
Glass_.Ea^:5 



Book 



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COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



Short Biographical Sketches 



OF 



Eminent 
Negro Men and Women 



In Europe and the United States, 



With Brief Extracts from their Writings and Public Utterances. 



Compiled and Arranged by 



JOHN EDWARD BRUCE, 



AND 



Inscribed to the Negro youth of America, in the humble hope that 

they may stimulate a reverence for the virtues and an 

imitation of the examples here set forth 



Yonkers, N. Y. 
1910. 






•B 



Copyright 1910 

by 
JOHN E. BRUCE. 



Published by 
Gazette Press, Yonkers, N. Y. 



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NO 



Preface. 



The editor of these biographical sketches sincerely trusts 
that the moral portraits which are here offered will present 
such features as will call for the thoughtful attention of the 
younger generation of the Negro race here and abroad, 
and that the accounts of these lives may beget a desire of 
imitation, in order to secure a Hke measure of merited honor. 
An attempt to awaken race pride has also been made, and 
among the illustrious names that are here enrolled may 
be found many which the editor earnestly hopes the people 
of his race will treasure, as a portion of a great legacy be- 
queathed to them and to their posterity forever. 

"Race," said the Earl of Beaconsfield, 'Ms the key to 

history." 

John Edward Bruce, Editor. 



Introduction. 



"Let us make man in our own image." And from that 
day to this, we find man chronicling his entrance to and his 
acts in the world. Distinctively terrestrial as is the habi- 
tation of man, we find him busy in classifying his greatness 
for the reference of future generations. 

From a philosophical point of view, it is far from being 
necessary when we consider the cause which gives him be- 
ing. A man is here with a distinct identity to do or not 
to do. The congratulations therefore given to man for 
superexcellencies in Art, Science, or Literature, are not his, 
but due to the cause which projected him hither. 

L^pon the other hand, however, we cannot fail to see 
the necessar}^ good that emanates from the study of the 
acts of those v^dio, in the emulation of conditions, have made 
greatness possible. The unsupported theory that man 
sprang from one stock has so rent in twain the "species," 
that it has become supremely necessary to identify the Races 
and their acts. 

The Race which erroneously is called "Negro," but 
which is correctly a Colored Race, springing from African 
Ancestors, finds itself so disadvantageously positioned 
among other Races that an intellectual disruption would be 
an obvious sequence were it not for a biographical data to 
which to refer. 

While the Race — Colored — has made intellectual strides 
of great moment, it is nevertheless apparent, from day to 
day, that the ignorance that exists has disparag'ed the ex- 
cellent status of those who represent wisdom. It is almost 
a generic transpiration to find incompetent ambitionists 
sharing the same positional honor as those who have by 
long years of study made themselves useful to the world. 

Withal, we must struggle on and in that struggle we 
must make mention of and chronicle the acts of those who 
have emerged from ignorance and have made themselves 



a part of the progress of things. One of the greatest draw- 
backs in the compilation of biographical sketches of the 
Colored Race is the hallucination made in the union of mat- 
ter and spirit. The test applied to Job l)y "His Satanic 
Majesty" is an illustration of the complexity. 

We recommend this book, therefore, to all who are inter- 
ested in the emulation of lives that are terrestrially worthy. 

The effort of the Author is a superhuman one, and suc- 
cessful, and aside from the psychology of things divine, we 
consider it the most worthy of its kind in the annals of 
History. I recommend it to the world. 

Philip Aklis Hubert, 

Prelate of the United Christian Church 
of New York. 



It is a remark of Dr. Johnson that "no species of writing 
seems more worthy of cultivation than biography, since 
none can be more dehghtful or more useful. None more 
certainly enchains the heart by irresistible interest or more 
widely diffuses instruction to every diversity of condition." 



Anthony William Amo. 

The date of the birth of this learned Negro is uncertain. 
He was born in Guinea, and was brought to Europe when 
very young; the Princess of Brunswick took charge of his 
education. He pursued his studies at Halle, in Saxony, and 
at Wittemberg. and so distinguished himself by his talents 
and good conduct, that the Rector and council of the Uni- 
versity of the last-mentioned town gave public testimony 
to them in a letter of congratulation. 

Amo, skilled in the knowledge of the Latin and Greek 
languages, delivered with success private lectures on phil- 
osophy, which were highly praised in the same letter. 

In an abstract published by the Dean of the Philosophical 
Faculty it is said of this learned Negro that having examined 
the systems of the ancients and moderns, he selected and 
taught all that was best of them. Besides this knowledge 
of Latin and Greek, he spoke Hebrew, French. Dutch, and 
German, and was well versed in Astronomy. He published 
dissertations on some subjects which obtained the approba- 
tion of the University of Wittemberg and the degree of 
Doctor was conferred upon him; the title of one of these 
was "Dissertio inauguralis philosophica de humanae de 
mentis AH AOEIA; seu sensionis ac facultates sentiendi in 
mente humana absentia, et earum in corpore nostro organico 
ac vivo praesentia, quam, praeside, publice defendit autor 
Ant Guil, Amo, Guinea— afer philosophide, etc. LC 
Mag-ister, etc., 1734 in 4°, Wittenbergae." 

He published another work of equal importance which, 
together with the one above referred to. called forth words 
of highest commendation from the learned men of his day; 
the Rector of the University of Wittemberg in speaking of 
one of them says: ''It underwent no change, because it 
was well executed, and indicates a mind exercised in reflec- 
tion." 

The court of Berlin conferred upon Amo the title of 
Counsellor of State, but after the death of his benefactress, 
the Princess of Brunswick, Amo fell into a profound melan- 
choly and resolved to leave Europe, in which he had resided 
for thirty years, and to return to the place of his birth, at 



Axim, on the gold coast. There he was visited in 1753 
by the intelligent traveller, David Henry Gallandat, who 
mentions him in the memoirs of the Academy of Flessingue, 
of which he was a member. Amo at that time was about 
fifty years of age and led the life of a recluse. His father 
and sister were living with him and he had a brother who 
was a slave in Surinam. Some time after, it appears, he 
left Axim, and settled in Chama. 

It is not known whether Amo published any other works, 
or at what period he died. 

Questions : 

When and where was Anthony William Amo born? 
What is said about his father? 
At what school was he educated? 
When did he go to Europe? 
What did he do there? 

What is the general character of his writings? 
Was he a useful man? How? 
How many languages did he speak? 
What is said of his knowledge of Astronomy? 
What is said of his talents and conduct while at Wittem- 
berg? 

On what subject did he lecture ? 

What was said of his published works? 

When did he leave Europe? 

How long had he resided there? 

Where did he go? 

What distinguished traveller visited him at his home? 

About how old was Amo at this time? 

Where did he finally settle? 

Did he publish any other works? 

When did he die? 



AnnibaL 

The Czar Peter I., during his travels, became acquainted 
with Hannibal, or Annibal, a Negro who had received a good 
education and who, under this Monarch, became in Russia 
a lieutenant-general and director of artillery. He was deco- 
rated with the red ribband of the order of St. Alexander 

8 



Neuski. Bernardin St. Pierre and Col. La Harpe knew his 
son, a mulatto who had the reputation of talents. In 1784, 
he was lieutenant-general in a corps of artillery. It was he 
who under the orders of Prince Potemkin, Minister of War, 
commenced the establishment of a fort and fortress at Cher- 
son, near the mouth of the Dnieper. 

Questions : 

What do you remember about Annibal? 

What ofifice did he hold under Peter I. ? 

What mark of distinction was bestowed upon him ? 

What rank did his son hold in the Russian Army? 

What great work did his son undertake ? 

By whose orders was this work begun? 

Now state all you can remember about this Negro. 



Gagangha Emanuel Acua. 

Prince Royal of the Camarones in Africa. 

In 1832 Prince Gagangha obtained permission of his 
royal father, King of the Camarones, a powerful African 
tribe, to visit Cuba. He embarked on a Spanish schooner, 
as he himself expressed it : "To see the white man's coun- 
try." The vessel was freighted with a cargo of slaves prob- 
ably in part supplied by Acua's father, who like himself, had 
been brought up in the odious traffic in human beings. 

She was pursued and taken by an English man-of-war, 
on board of which the Prince was detained about five months 
and was deprived of three hundred dollars, the whole of 
what he had brought for his travelling expenses. 

While on board this vessel, he assisted in capturing 
two other ships in the same iniquitous traffic, one of which 
Avas freighted with 646 of his miserable countrymen. Acua 
was taken to Jamaica from whence he proceeded to England 
hoping to obtain a free passage to Sierra Leone or Fernando 
Po. He was probably encouraged in this hope not only 
by reflecting on his rank as an African Prince, but as being 
the son of a chief whose liberality to the English was well 
known in his gratuitous supplies of provisions to the 
English captains on the coast of Fernando Po. 



On reaching Portsmouth, destitute of money, the Board 
of Admiralty furnished him with means of proceeding to 
London, where, having letters of introduction from several 
naval officers, he became a recipient of those kindly atten- 
tions which well recommended foreigners meet with in the 
British metropolis. Here among others he found a warm 
benefactor in Joseph Phillips, formerly of Antigua, W. I., 
and who was afterwards a magistrate in the West Indies. 

Under his roof the Prince was entertained in the kindest 
manner, while waiting for an opportunity to return to his 
own country. While in London he was taken by friends 
to visit the places of public interest in many parts of that 
big city, when every faculty would at times appear to be 
absorbed in admiration and astonishment, and it required 
some care not to overcharge his mind with those sudden 
transitions which from the intensity of excitement might 
prove almost overwhelming. Under the dome of St. Paul's 
Cathedral, while surveying its magnificent roof, he was far 
from being insensible of that sublimity of feeling which has 
generally been considered incompatible with the African in- 
tellect. The same effect was observable when from the sum- 
mit of the monument he was shown the habitations of two 
millions of human beings. On such occasions he would for 
some moments appear incapable of articulation, only mani- 
festing his feelings by a peculiar expression of the counten- 
ance. 

During his stay in London, the Prince met and was in- 
troduced to Lord John Russell and to Thomas Foxwell Bux- 
ton ; the latter among other marks of attention presented 
him with a case furnished with the necessary apparatus for 
writing and having the following inscription engraved on a 
plate : 

"Gagangha Emanuel Acua, 
Prince Royal of the Camarones in Africa. 

This case was presented to him when in England, 

Nov. 10, 1832, by 

Thos. Foxwell Buxton, Esq., 

Member of the British Parliament, 

The faithful advocate for the abolition of the 

slave trade and slavery throughout 

the world." 



10 



Prince Aciia was partially acquainted with the English, 
Spanish and Portuguese languages. His complexion was 
of a jet black, and scientific men much admired the organic 
structure of his head. His general bearing was also con- 
sidered to indicate a degree of conscious superiority, and 
notwithstanding the disadvantages of his early training, he 
was remarkably humane towards the poor, which fact was 
once particularly evinced when he met an industrious artisan 
wdiose wages were inadequate to his wants. With a coun- 
tenance full of commiseration he solemnly uttered these ex- 
pressive words: 

"God Almighty does not like it to be so." 

Prince Acua left England in the latter part of 1832. His 
range of thought was enlarged and refined; moral and re- 
ligious principles were readily imbibed, and instead of de- 
siring to renew those outrages on humanity to which he 
had been unhappily trained, there was reason to hope that 
he had returned to his native land with a sincere disposition 
to labor for its permanent improvement. 

Questions : 

What is said of Prince Gagangha Emanuel Acua's at- 
tempted trip to Cuba? 

What happened to the vessel on which he sailed? 

At what place did he finally land ? 

How long was he kept a prisoner and what misfortune 
befell him? 

How many slaves did he assist in capturing? 

How many of his countrymen were on one of these 
vessels? 

Did he go direct to London ? 

What was his condition upon reaching Portsmouth? 

What did the Board of Admiralty do? 

State in a general way all that you can remember of 
the Prince after his arrival in London. 

What kind of a man was he to the poor? 

What effect upon his mind and nature was produced by 
his coming in contact with the English? 

What did Thomas Foxwell Buxton give him? 

What did the Prince say to the artisan? 



II 



Crispus Attucks. 

The first man killed in the war for American independ- 
ence was named Crispus Attucks. He was a mulatto slave, 
and was born in 1723. He ran away from his master, Sep- 
tember 30, 1750, and in the advertisement announcing the 
loss of this valuable piece of property in human flesh, Crispus 
is described as "A 'Molatto' fellow about twenty-seven years 
of age; six feet and two inches high; short curled hair; his 
knees nearer together than common, etc. — a reward of 
Ten pound Old Tenor, is offered for his apprehension and 
return to his master, William Brown, of Framingham, 
Massachusetts." This advertisement appeared in the Bos- 
ton Gazette of October 7, 1750. 

On march 5, 1770, Crispus Attucks led an attack upon 
the British soldiers who occupied a portion of King Street 
in the City of Boston. It was rather a rash thing to do, 
but public sentiment against British invasion was thoroughly 
aroused and men did not stop to discuss their right to repel 
the invaders, for they had discussed and settled it soon after 
the Stamp Act and its concomitant evils had been im- 
posed upon them by the Home Government. While the 
leading men of Boston, says an eminent writer, were dis- 
cussing what steps should be taken to drive the British 
troops out of the town, Crispus Attucks, a Negro runaway 
slave, led a crowd against the soldiers, shouting "The way 
to get rid of these soldiers is to attack the main guard, 
strike at the root, this is the nest." With these words ring- 
ing in their ears his followers rushed with him in the lead 
to King Street, where they were fired upon by Captain Pres- 
ton's Company. Crispus Attucks was the first to fall; he 
and Samuel Gray and Jonas Caldwell were killed on the spot. 
Samuel Maverick and Patrick Carr were mortally wounded, 
and the excitement which followed was intense. The in- 
dignation of the Colonists against the hated British became 
more and more pronounced and bitter. Says the same 
writer: "The bells of the town were rung." An important 
town meeting was held and an immense assembly was 
gathered. 

Three days after, on the 17th, a public funeral of the 
martyrs took place; the shops in Boston were closed, and all 



12 



c 



the bells of Boston and the ncig-hboring- towns were rung. 
It is said that a greater number of persons assembled on 
this occasion than ever before gathered on this continent 
for a similar purpose. The body of Crispus Attucks the 
"Molatto" had been placed in Fanueil Hall with that of Cald- 
well l)Oth being strangers in the city. Maverick was buried 
from his mother's house in Union Street, and Gray from his 
brother's in Royal Exchange Lane. The four hearses 
formed a junction in King Street, and then the procession 
marched in columns six deep, with a long file of coaches, 
belonging to the most distinguished citizens, to the Middle 
Burying Ground, where the four victims were deposited in 
one grave, over which a stone was placed with this inscrip- 
tion : 

"Long as in freedom's cause the wise contend, 
Dear to your country shall your fame extend, 
While to the world the lettered stone shall tell 
Where Caldwell, Attucks, Gray and Maverick fell." 

Crispus Attucks was a daring, reckless sort of a man, 
and the great courage he exhibited in leading a mere hand- 
ful of men in an attack upon a company of trained soldiers, 
well armed, is very good evidence that he was neither a 
craven nor a cow^ard. It was a bold thing to do, and its 
very boldness will command the admiration of generations 
yet to come. 

More than one hundred years after his tragic death in 
King Street (now State Street), Boston, Massachusetts, a 
marble shaft was erected by the City of Boston to com- 
memorate his heroic deed, and to inspire his race with pride 
whenever it shall recall to memory the history of the Boston 
Massacre, in which a runaway slave struck the first blow 
for American freedom and independence and spilled the 
first blood in the attempt to attain it. 

Questions : 

Where did Crispus Attucks live? 

What was his position in life? 

About what time did he run away from his master? 

What did his master do when he discovered his loss? 

How did he describe his alleged property? 

13 



What was the result of his efforts to again possess it? 

What happened in Boston on March 5, 1770? 

Why was the attack precipitated by the Colonists ? 

What did Attucks say to his little band of followers ? 

What did they do? 

What did the British soldiers do ? 

How many were killed outright ? Name them. 

How many were mortally wounded? Name them. 

What did the people of Boston do after the massacre? 

When did the funeral of Attucks and the others who fell 
with him take place? 

What did the merchants of Boston and vicinity do to 
show their respect? 

Where w^as the body of Attucks finally placed? How 
many others were buried with him? 

To what hall was Attucks body carried ? 

Repeat the inscription on the stone which marked the 
last resting place of the four victims of this massacre. 

Has a special monument been erected to Attucks in re- 
cent years ? 

State what you know about it. 



Benoit — The Black. 

Benoit the Black, or Palermo, also named Benoit of St. 
Philadelphia or Santo Fratello, and sometimes called Benoit 
the Moor, was a Negro, the son of a Negress slave. Roccho 
Pirro, author of the Sicillia Sacra, characterized him by 
these words: "Nigro quidem corpore sed candore animi 
praeclarisimus quem et miraculis Deus contestatum esse 
volunt" — "His body was black but it pleased God to testify 
by miracles the whiteness of his soul." 

Just when and where Benoit was born, is not definitely 
known. He was an extremely modest man and possessed 
eminent virtues which were greatly praised by learned 
men, who appreciated his mental and moral worth. Some- 
times however the modest veil which conceals merit is re- 
moved, and it is owing to this that Benoit has escaped ob- 
livion. He died at Palermo, in the year 1589, where his 
tomb and memory are generally revered. Roccho Pirro, 

14 



Father Arthur Gravima and many other writers are full of 
euloo-s' concerninsf this venerable and learned Negi'o. 

Questions : 

Who was Benoit? What was his parentage? 

What was he sometimes called ? 

In what country did he flourish ? 

What was said of him by Roccho Pirro? 

In what year did he die? 

Where was he buried ? 



Solomon Bailey 

Was born a slave in the State of Delaware and was car- 
ried into Virginia. The laws of Delaware said that slaves 
carried out of that State should be free. Solomon Bailey 
asserted his right to his freedom and was promptly put in 
jail and in irons, at Richmond, Virginia, and from thence 
sent in a wagon back into the country. 

After leaving Richmond, in the bitterness of his heart 
he cried out— ''I am past all hope," but it pleased the Father 
of Mercies to look upon him and he sent a strengthening 
thought into his heart— that he had made the heavens and 
the earth, and was able to deliver him. He looked up to 
the sky and then on the trees and ground, and he believed 
in a moment that if God could make all these, he was able 
to deliver him. Then there came into his mind these words 
of scripture : "They that trust in the Lord shall never be 
confounded." He believed it and went unperceived into the 
bushes. When they missed him they looked for him, and not 
finding him went on. That night he travelled through thun- 
der, lightning and rain a great distance. His trials and 
difficulties in getting along were many and various. In re- 
lating one of these he says : "I cried to the Maker of heaven 
and earth to save me, and he did so. I prayed to the Lord, 
and when night came on I felt as if the great God had heard 
my cry. Oh ! how marvelous is His loving kindness toward 
men of every description and complexion; though He is 
high, yet hath He respect unto the low^ly and will hear the 
cry of the distressed when they call upon Him and will 
make known His goodness and His power." 



1=; 



At Petersburg, Virginia, he met with a colored man 
from his own neighborhood circumstanced hke himself. 
They got a small boat, went down the James River and 
landed in Chesapeake Bay. But, says he : "We were hunt- 
ed like partridges on the mountain." His companion was 
pursued and killed, having his brains knocked out. Solomon 
in his narrative makes the following remarks touching upon 
this incident: "Now, reader, you have heard of the end of 
my fellow-sufferer, but I remain yet as a monument of mercy, 
thrown up and down on life's tempestuous sea ; sometimes 
feeling an earnest desire to go away and be at rest. But I 
travel on in hopes of overcoming at my last combat." In 
all his struggles to attain the almost unattainable, he never 
failed to put his trust in Almighty God, or to recognize His 
providential aid in every great emergency. On one occa- 
sion he exclaimed: "Oh! what pains God takes to help His 
otherwise helpless creatures! Oh, that His kindness and 
care were more considered and laid to heart." 

In Camden, Delaware, he met his old master, whom he 
had not seen since he put him on the back of the country 
wagon, nearly 350 miles from Camden. He asked him what 
he was going to do. Solomon said: "I have suffered a 
great deal and seen a great deal of trouble. I think you 
might let me go for little or nothing." His master said: 
^'1 won't do that, but if you will give me a forty-pound 
bond and good security you may be free." Finally he bought 
his time for eighty dollars, and went to work and worked 
it out in a shorter time than he had been given, and then 
he was a free man. "And when I came to think," said he, 
"that the yoke was off my neck and how it was taken off, 
I was made to wonder and admire and to adore the order- 
ings of kind Providence, who assisted me in all my way." 

The reader will no doubt be interested in reading a few 
extracts from letters written by this pious Negro : 

"To John Reynolds, Wilmington. Delaware. 

"Camden, Delaware, 7th mo., 24, 1825. 

"Dear Friend : I received thy very acceptable letter, and 
was not a little comforted. I was glad to hear from thee 
and thy dear family and friends. I believe thou art trying to 

16 



be a beloved John indeed, or a son of Abraham, for they that 
are of faith, are children of Abraham, and heirs according 
to the promises. And the Lord gave a testimony concerning 
him saying: 'I know him that he will command his children 
and his household after him.' O, pray that thou mayest 
continue to study the business of life, which is to prepare 
for a blessed immortality, with the Father and the Son, ac- 
cording to the spirit of holiness which works in us both to 
will and to do of His good pleasure ; and if not resisted will 
make us one in Him in spirit and in truth. O, that we might 
be enabled to walk before the Lord in all pleasing! I thank 
thee dear brother for mentioning a thought for my temporal 
and spiritual concerns. I am daily at a loss to know how 
to express my thanks to the Great Giver of every blessing, 
who amply loads me with benefits. I think I am enabled 
by His grace to esteem the cross of Christ more than I used 
to do, for I learn by the cross I must be crucified to the 
world, and the world unto me. But O ! dear friend, I find 
that knowledge pufifeth up, but it is charity above that edi- 
fyeth. True charity is not puffed up. Now no man can have 
true charity without the love of God, and keep his com- 
mandments defined by the blessed Jesus himself in these 
words : 'As you would that men should do to you do ye 
even so to them.' O! if all the world was engaged to run 
after this command and follow this best of all rules, then 
harmony and peace would flow through the minds of all 
people, nations, tongues and languages at once ; then 
righteousness would cover the earth as the waters do the 
great deep ; then His kingdom would come and His will 
be done on earth as it is in heaven ; then all would be 
happy and free from all fear which hath torment — live happy, 
die happy — and all go to heaven according to the will of 
God, our Almighty Father, who would have all men to be 
saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. 

"Now unto the King, immortal, invisible, to the only wise 
God, our Saviour, be honor and praise, both now and for- 
ever. Amen. 

"With good wishes to thee and thine, I conclude. 

"Thy friend, 

"Solomon Bailey." 

17 



Being desirous of advancing the Kingdom of the Re- 
deemer, he went over to Liberia, about the year 1830, where 
he did much good work as a missionary. 

In a letter from :\[onrovia, in 1832, found among the 
papers of the late Hannah Kilham, he alluded to the pros- 
pect of returning to America again to furnish some informa- 
tion respecting the Liberian Colony, which he accomplished 
in T833. Whether he returned to Africa again is not known. 

The Rev. Thomas Clarkson in speaking of having 
perused the narrative of this pious Negro with much pleasure 
and interest, makes the following observation: "If the 
slnves in our islands and elsewdiere are capable (and what 
should hinder them under divine grace) of bearing such 
visible marks of the image of God upon their minds, how 
beyond all example, abandoned must be the wickedness of 
those who systematically treat them as brutes that perish?" 

Questions : 

Where was Solomon Bailey born? 

What is said of his early life? 

What did the laws of Delaware say about slaves carried 
out of that State? 

How much money did Solomon Bailey pay for his 
freedom ? 

How did he pay it? 

About what time did he go to Liberia? 

Did he return to America? 

What for? 

What is said of him by Thomas Clarkson? 



James £♦ J. Capitein 

Was born in Africa. He was purchased when seven or 
eight years of age, on the borders of the river St. Andre, 
by a Negro trader, who made a present of him to one of 
his friends. 

By his new master, who proved to be his friend, he was 
first named Capitein, and he instructed him, baptized him 
and brought him to Holland, where he acquired the language 

18 



of the country. He devoted his time to painting, for which 
he had a great inchnation. 

He commenced his studies at the Hague, where a pious 
and learned lady, who was much occupied in the study of 
languages, is said first to have taught him Latin and the 
elements of the Greek, Hebrew and Chaldean tongues. 
From the Hague he went to the University of Leyden, meet- 
ing everywhere with zealous protectors. He devoted him- 
self to theology, under able professors, with the intention 
of returning to Africa to preach the Gospel to his country- 
men. 

Having studied four years, Capitein took his degree, and 
in 1742 was sent as a Christian minister to Elmina, on the 
Gold Coast. In 1802 a vague report was spread that he had 
abjured Christianity and embraced idolatry again. Blumen- 
bach, however, who inserted a portrait of Capitien in his 
work on the varieties of the human race, could detect no 
authentic information against him. 

Capitein's first literary production is an elegy in Latin 
on the death of Manger Minister at the Hague. On his ad- 
mission to the University of Leyden, he published a 
Latin Dissertation on the Calling of the Gentiles — "De 
Vocatione Ethnicorum," which he divided into three parts. 
From the authority of the sacred writings he establishes the 
certainty of the promise of the Gospel, which embraces all 
nations, although its manifestation is only gradual. For the 
purpose of co-operating in this respect with the design of 
the Almighty, he proposes that the languages of those na- 
tions should be cultivated to whom the blessings of Chris- 
tianity are yet unknown, and also that missionaries be sent 
among them, who, by the mild voice of persuasion might 
gain their affections, and dispose them to receive the truths 
of the Gospel. 

The Spaniards and the Portuguese, he observes, exer- 
cise a mild and gentle treatment over their slaves, estal^lish- 
ing no superiority of color. In other countries planters have 
prevented their Negroes from being instructed in a religion 
which proclaims the equality of men, all proceeding from 
a common stock, and equally entitled to the benefits of a 
kind Providence, who is no respector of persons. 

The Dutch planters persuaded that slavery is inconsistent 

19 



with Christianity, l)nt stifling the voice of conscience prob- 
ably instigated Capitien to become the apologist of a bad 
cause, for he subsequently composed a politico-theological 
dissertation in Latin to prove that slavery is not opposed to 
Christian freedom. 

His conclusion was forced; though poor in argument, 
it is rich in erudition, and it was translated into Dutch by 
Wilheur and published, with the portrait of the author, in 
his clerical attire. This work went through four editions. 
Capitien also published a small quarto volume of sermons 
in Dutch, preached in different towns, and printed at Am- 
sterdam in 1742. 

Questions : 

Where was Capitien born? 

What of his early life and education? 

Who named him Capitien? 

Who brought him to Holland? 

Where did he commence his studies? 

Who taught him Latin and the elements of the Greek, 
Hebrew and Chaldean tongues? 

When did he go to the University of Leyden? 

How long did he study and in what year did he take his 
degree? 

Why did he devote himself to the study of Theology? 

In what year was he sent to Elmina, on the Gold Coast? 

What kind of a report was made about him in 1802? 

Was this confirmed? 

What was the first literary work Capitien did ? 

What is an elegy? 

In what language was this written? 

What other works did he publish? 

Name them. 

What was the nature of his second work and into how 
many parts was it divided? 

What did it prove? 

What other work did he write? 

What is the meaning of politico-theological? 

What did he attempt to prove by this work? 

What is said of its merit? 

By whom was it translated into Dutch? 

• 20 



In what year did Capitien publish his sermons? 
In what language were they published? 
Why did Capitien become the apologist of a bad cause? 
Did the Dutch planters induce Capitien to take this step? 
Was it good policy, and was it a consistent thing for him 
to do? 



Benjamin Banneker. 

The subject of this sketch was born in Baltimore County, 
State of Maryland, in the early part of the present century. 
His father and mother w-ere both Africans, w^ho after having 
obtained their freedom were enabled to send their son to 
an obscure school, where he learned reading, writing and 
arithmetic. They left him, at their death, a few acres of 
land, upon which he subsequently supported himself with 
economy and exertion, so as to always preserve his reputa- 
tion. 

To struggle unnecessarly against want is by no means 
favorable to improvement. What he had learned he did 
not forget, and as some hours of leisure will occur in the 
most toilsome life, he availed himself of these, not only to 
read and acquire knowledge from writings of genius and 
discovery— for of such he had none— but to digest and ap- 
ply as occasion presented, the principles of the itw rules 
of arithmetic he had been taught at school. This kind of 
mental exercise formed his chief amusement, and soon gave 
him a faculty in calculation that was often serviceable to his 
neighbors and at length attracted the attention of the 
Messrs. Ellicott, a family remarkable for their ingenuity .^ 

It was about the year 1788 that George EHicott lent him 
three astronomical works and some instruments accompany- 
ing them, with neither hint nor instruction that might further 
his studies or lead him to apply them to any useful result. 

These books and instruments, the first of the kind Ban- 
neker had ever seen, opened a new world to him, and he 
began to employ his leisure in astronomical researches. 

Having taken up the idea of making calculations for an 
almanac, he completed a set for a whole year. Encour- 
aged by his first attempt, he entered upon calculations for 
subsequent years, which as well as the former, he began 



21 



and finished without the least assistance from any person 
or books other than the three vohunes mentioned ; so that 
Avhatever merit is attached to his performance is exclusively 
and peculiarly his own. He published almanacs in Phila- 
delphia, in 1792-3-4-5, w^hich contained his calculations, ex- 
hibiting the different aspects of the planets, a table of the 
motions of the Sun and Moon, their risings and settings, 
and the courses of the bodies of the Planetary System. Ban- 
neker sent a manuscript copy of his first almanac to Pres- 
ident Thomas Jefferson, with a letter dated August 19, 1791, 
couched in elegant language, and which bespeaks for its 
writer considerable literary ability. On August 30. 1791, the 
President acknowledged this letter with thanks, and after 
complimenting Mr. Banneker upon his excellent work and 
assuring him of his sincere interest in the uplifting of the 
Blacks, mentally and morally, he added : 

"I have taken the liberty of sending your almanac to 
Monsieur de Condozett, Secretary of the Academy of 
Sciences, at Paris, and a member of the Philanthropic So- 
ciety, because I considered it as a document to which your 
whole color had a right for their justification against the 
doubts which have been entertained of thein. 
"I am with great esteem, sir, 

"Your most obedient, etc., 

"Thomas Jefferson." 

Questions : 

Where and when was Benjamin Banneker born? 

What is said of his parentage? 

Were his parents free or did they subsequently become 
free? 

What did they do towards educating their son? 

What did he principally learn at this school? 

What did his parents leave him at their decease? 

How did he improve his mind in his spare moments? 

What is said of his faculty in calculation? 

What was the efifect of his genius upon the Messrs. 
Ellicott? 

Who were they? 

Who lent him astronomical instruments? 

22 



What use did he make of them? 

Where did he pnbhsh his ahnanac, and in what years? 

To whom did he send a manuscript copy of his first 
ahnanac ? 

To whom was it subsequently sent by the person to whom 
Banneker sent it? 

Why was this done ? 

Repeat if you can the extract quoted from the letter sent 
to Banneker. 

What have you learned about Benjamin Banneker? 



Alexander Poushkin 

Was born at Moscow, June 7, 1799. His maternal grand- 
father, a favorite Negro, was ennobled by Peter the Great. 
Poushkin was a most celebrated poet, and was to Russia 
what Byron was to England ; indeed he was called the "Black 
Byron of Russia." He was quite a voluminous writer and 
some of his verses are considered by competent critics to be 
equal to those of many of his contemporaries in point of style 
and finish. He was the poet of nature and loved to sing 
of the beauties of nature. 

Deep down in his heart there was a tinge of bitterness 
which found expression in a poem which he wrote concern- 
ing his origin and early life. He was killed in a duel with 
George Heckeren D'Anthes, adopted son of the Dutch Min- 
ister, then a resident of the Court of St. Petersburg. In 
1837 D'Anthes was tried by court martial and expelled from 
the country. In 1880 Poushkin's admirers erected a statue 
to his memory at Tver Barriere, at Moscow, and yearly fetes 
were held in his honor, on which occasions many interesting 
memorials of him were exhibited by his admiring country- 
men and a few foreigners who had congregated for the fes- 
tivities. He left a wife and four children. His widow after- 
wards married an ofificer in the army named Sanskoi ; she 
died in 1863. 

Below are appended some of his poems, which have been 
translated into English by Mr. Ivan Pannin, a Russian 
scholar of high standing: 

23 



THE CLOUD. 

O lost cloud of the scattered storm, 
Above thou sailest along the azure clear; 
Above thou bringest the shadow sombre, 
Above thou marrest the joyful day. 

Thou but recently hadst encircled the sky 

When sternly the lightning was winding about thee; 

Thou givest forth mysterious thunder, 

With rain hast watered the parched earth. 

Enough, hie thyself, thy time hast passed ; 
Earth is refreshed, the storm hath fled. 
And the breezes fondling the trees leaves 
Forth thee chases from the quieted heavens. 



THE BARD. 

Have ye heard in the words the mighty voice 
Of the bard of love, of the bard of his grief? 
When the fields in the morning hour were still, 
The flutes sad sound and simple — 
Have ye heard? 

Have ye met in the desert darkness of the forest. 
The bard of love, the bard of his grief? 
Was it a track of tears, was it a smile — 
Of a quiet glance filled with melancholy — 
Have ye met? 

Have ye sighed, listening to the calm voice- 
Of the bard of love, of the bard of his grief, 
When in the woods the youth ye saw 
And met the glance of his dulled eye — 

Have ye sighed? iSio 



FAME. 

Blest who to himself has kept 
His creation, highest of the soul, 
And from his fellows as from the grave 
Expected not appreciation! 



24 



Blessed he who in silence sang, 
And the crown of fame not wearing, 
By mob despised and forgotten- 
Forsaken, nameless— has the world! 
Deceiver greater than dreams of hope, 
What is fame? The adorers whisper? 
Or the boor's persecution. 
Or the rapture of the fool? 

FRIENDSHIP. 

Thus it ever was and ever will be, 
Such of old is the world wide ; 
The learned are many, the sages few- 
Acquaintances many, but not a friend. 

THE BIRDLET. 

God's birdlet knows. 

Nor cares, nor toils, 

Nor weaves it painfully 

An everlasting nest. 

Through the long night on a twig it slumbers ; 

When rises the red sun 

Birdlet listens to the voice of God 

And it starts and sings. 

When spring, nature's beauty. 

And the burning summer have passed, 

And the fog and the rain. 

By the late fall are brought, 

Men are wearied, men are grieved, 

But birdlet flies into distant lands. 

Into warmer climes beyond the blue sea ; 

Flies away into the spring. 1824. 

ELEGY. 

My wishes I have survived ; 
My ambition I have outgrown! 
Left only is my smart. 
The fruit of emptiness of heart. 

25 



Under the storm of cruel fate 
Faded has my blooming crown ! 
Sad I live and lonely 
And wait ! is nigh my end? 

Thus touched by the belated past, 
When storm's wintry whistle is heard, 
On the branch bare and lone 
Trembles the belated leaf. 1821. 

RESURRECTION. 

With sleepy brush the barbarian artist 
The Master's painting blackens ; 
And thoughtlessly his wicked drawing 
Over it he is daubing. 

But in years the foreign colors 

Peel off, an aged layer; 

The work is genius, is 'gain before us. 

With former beauty out it comes. 

Thus my failings vanish too 
From my wearied soul. 
And ag'ain within its visions rise, 
Of my early purer days. 

Questions : 

When and where was Alexander Poushkin born? 

What was his reputation as a poet in Russia? 

What distinguished honor was conferred by Peter the 
Great upon his maternal grandfather? 

To what race did his grandfather belong? 

How was he regarded by the Emperor? 

What was Poushkin called? 

Did he write much? 

How did he die? 

What is a duel ? 

What became of his murderer? 

What did Poushkin's admirers do to perpetuate his 
memory ? 

What is the meaning of the word fete? 

26 



What language is it? 

How many children did Poiishkin have? 

Where did his wife die? 

What are the subjects of the poems here appended? 



Prof. James M. Gregory. 

(From "Men of Mark," by Permission.) 

Born at Lexington, Virginia, January 23, 1849. His par- 
ents were Henry L. and Maria A. Gregory. 

In 1859 they moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where the sub- 
ject of this sketch entered the public schools, being among 
the first colored boys to avail himself of their superior sys- 
tem of training. He at first encountered considerable ill- 
feeling, on account of color, but he was soon as great a 
favorite among them as he already was among the teachers. 

Temporarily residing in La Porte, Indiana, he attended 
private school. Afterwards he went to Chicago and there 
remained awhile in the public school. Returning to Cleve- 
land, Ohio, he entered first the Grammar School of that 
city and then the High School. In 1865 he entered the 
Preparatory Department of Oberlin College. 

As a student he was industrious and ambitious; he with 
ease mastered the studies of the preparatory course, and 
is spoken of by his teachers as a bright scholar, and one 
that gave great promise for the future. 

Though the only colored man in the class, because of his 
high class standing, affable manners, powers as a writer and 
ability as a speaker, he was selected from a class of thirty- 
six as one of the nine students to represent the class at the 
Senior Preparatory Exhibition — chosen, not by the faculty, 
but by the class itself. While at college — upon request of 
Benjamin F. Butler — he was recommended by the faculty 
for a cadetship at West Point, but Andrew Johnson, then 
President, pandering to the prejudice of race, refused to 
appoint him. In the year following Gregory's admission to 
college, while on his way from Lynchburg to Oberlin, he 
stopped in Washington to get the papers forwarded by the 
faculty, in which he was recommended by General Butler for 

27 



a cadetship at West Point. He was sent to the War De- 
partment, where the papers were filed, and there for the 
first time he met Gen. O. O. Howard. Something in the 
address and bearing of the young man impressed the Gen- 
eral, who entered into conversation with him and drew forth 
the salient points of his personal history and prospects. 
Upon parting, Mr. Gregory was told that probably he would 
be sent for in about a year to come to Washington, but no 
explanation was given. Scarcely twelve months had elapsed 
when he received a letter offering — if he would complete his 
course at Howard University — to give him at the same time 
a position as instructor in the Preparatory Department of 
that institution. Mr. Gregory accepted, and at once entered 
upon his double duties at Washington. In 1872 he grad- 
uated with the valedictory of his class, and was regularly 
made tutor of Latin and mathematics in the Preparatory 
Department. 

When George T. Downing and himself discovered in the 
new code of laws for the District of Columbia, which had 
been prepared and was before the House of Representatives, 
a provision sanctioning by law the separate school system, 
they were aroused to immediate action. Pursuant to a call 
by these gentlemen, a meeting was held at the house of Dr. 
C. B. Purvis and a memorial was adopted calling the special 
attention of the Senate and House of Representatives to 
certain clauses in the proposed code for the District of 
Columbia, which, contrary to the provisions of the Consti- 
tution, permitted an unjust and odious discrimination against 
a large number of the citizens of the District of Columbia. 
The Committee on Memorial was as follows: Frederick 
Douglass, president; Richard T. Greener, secretary; Fred- 
erick G. Barbadoes, John F. Cook, George T. Downing, 
James M. Gregory, Rev. F. J. Grinke, Milton M. Holland,' 
Wiley Lane. C. B. Purvis, M. D., and W. H. Smith. They 
fought manfully for the principle at stake, and with such ef- 
fect as greatly to alarm the enemies of their cause. News- 
papers took up the question and grew vehement in its dis- 
cussion. All sorts of vile epithets were hurled at the origin- 
ators of the memorial, and finally when — through their ex- 
ertions — the code containing the obnoxious laws was defeat- 
ed, they were branded as "Obstructionists." Their success 

28 



was largely clue to Representative D. B. Haskell, of Kansas, 
who was their able champion in the House. 

Unlike many eminent men, Professor Gregory's private 
life is as pleasing as his public course is inspiring; he has 
the greatest of all earthly possessions— a happy home. He 
is identified with the Congregational Church. 

Amono- his best efforts are the following: 

1. New Leaders. 

2. Moral Emancipation. 

3. Cuban Emancipation. 

4. The Republican Party. 

5. The Advent of the Colored Soldier. 

6. The Value of College Training. 

Questions : 

In what year was James M. Gregory born? 

What were his parents' names? 

When did they go to reside at Lynchburg, Virginia? 

When did they move to Cleveland, Ohio? 

What did young Gregory do in that city? 

How did he find public sentiment in regard to color? 

How did he overcome it? 

Where did he attend private school ? 

Where did he afterwards go? What for? 

Returning to Cleveland, what did he do ? 

When did he enter the Preparatory Department of Ober- 
lin College? 

How was he spoken of by his teachers? 

Why was he selected as one of nine students to represent 
his class at the Senior Preparatory Exhibition? How was 
he selected? 

Upon whose request was he selected by the faculty for a 
cadetship at West Point ? State why he was not appointed. 

State the circumstances of his first meeting with General 
Howard. What took place at the meeting? 

How was General Howard impressed with him and what 
did he tell him would probably be done? 

What offer was made him ? 

Did he accept? 

What did he do towards defeating a certain proscriptive 

29 



law intended to effect the colored schools of the District of 
Columbia ? 

What was the purpose of that law? 

How would it have effected the school system, had it not 
been defeated ? 

State, in a general way, what you have learned about 
the subject of this sketch, and whether you think he has 
benefited either his race or himself, and how? 



Frederick Douglass, LL, D. 

Frederick Douglass was born about the year 1817, in 
Tuckahoe, a barren little district upon the eastern shore of 
Maryland, best known for the wretchedness, poverty, 
slovenliness and dissipation of its inhabitants. 

Of his mother he knew very little, having seen her only 
a few times in his life, as she was employed on a plantation 
some distance from the place where he was raised. His 
master was supposed to be his father. 

During his early childhood he was beaten and starved, 
often fighting with the dogs for the bones that were thrown 
to them. As he grew older and could work he was given 
very little to eat, over-worked and much beaten. As the 
boy grew older still and realized the misery and horror of 
his surroundings his very soul revolted, and a determina- 
tion was formed to be free or 'to die attempting it. 

At the age of ten years he was sent to Baltimore, to Mrs. 
Sophia Auld, as a house servant. She became very much 
interested in him, and immediately began teaching him his 
letters. He was very apt and was soon able to read, but 
unfortunately, the husband of his mistress, learning of his 
advancement, refused to permit the lessons to continue. 

This prohibition served only to check the instruction 
from his mistress, but had no effect upon the ambition, the 
craving for more light, that was within the boy, and the 
more obstacles he met with the stronger became his de- 
termination to overcome them. He carried his spelling- 
book in his bosom, and would snatch a minute now and then 
to pursue his studies. 

The first money he made he invested in a "Columbian 
Orator." In this work he read the "Fanaticism of Liberty" 

30 



and the "Declaration of Independence." After reading this 
book he reaHzed that there was a better life waiting for him 
if he would take it, and so he ran away. 

He settled in New Bedford with his wife, who was a free 
woman in the South, being engaged to Douglass before his 
escape, and followed him to New York, where they 
were married. She was a worthy, effectionate, industrious 
and invaluable helpmate to the great Douglass. She ever 
stood side by side with him in all his struggles to establish 
a home — helped him and encouraged him while he climbed 
the ladder of knowledge and fame. Together with him she 
offered the hand of welcome and a shelter to all who were 
fortunate enough to escape from bondage and reach their 
hospitable shelter. It is for this reason that when the name 
of Frederick Douglass is lovingly mentioned, his noble wife, 
Anna, should also be the object of sincere admiration. 

In New Bedford he sawed wood, dug cellars, shoveled 
coal, and did any other work which would enable him to 
turn an honest penny, having as an incentive the knowledge 
that he was working for himself and his family, and that 
there was no master waiting for his wages. Here several of 
his children were born. 

He began to read the "Liberator." for which he sub- 
scribed, and other papers and works of the best authors. 
He was charmed by Scott's "Lady of the Lake," and read- 
ing it he adopted the name of "Frederick Douglass." 

At this time he began to take an interest in all public 
matters, often speaking at the gatherings among colored 
people. In 1841 he addressed a large convention at Nan- 
tucket. Later he was employed as an agent of the x\mer- 
ican Anti-Slavery Society, and it is this period which really 
marks the beginning of his grand struggle for the freedom 
and elevation of his race. 

He lectured all through the North, notwithstanding the 
fact that he was in constant danger of being recaptured and 
sent to the South as a slave. After a time it was deemed 
best that he should, for awhile, go to England. Here he 
w^as cordially welcomed — John Bright established him in his 
home, and thus he was brought in contact with the best 
minds, and made acquainted with some of England's most 



distinguished men. 



31 



Returning to America, he settled in Rochester, New 
York and estabHshed a paper, called the "North Star" (after- 
wards changed to *'Fred. Douglass' Paper"). He also pub- 
lished a periodical known as "Douglass' Monthly." Both 
publications were issued from his own office, and two of his 
sons were the principal assistants in setting-up the work 
and attending to the business generally. 

There has been a great deal of speculation as to what 
connection Frederick Douglass had with the John Brown 
raid. The two great men met and Brown became acquaint- 
ed with Douglass' history; they became fast friends. They 
were singularly adapted to each other as co-workers, both 
being deeply imbued with the belief that it was their duty 
to devote their lives and means to the cause of Emancipa- 
tion. 

They lived frugally at home, that they might have the 
more to give — their families shared their inspiration, and 
their lives were all influenced by the one motive — the cause 
of freedom. 

Many men and women who successfully escaped into 
Canada and then to other places, will tell how, after they 
had been well fed, nourished and made comfortable by the 
mother, one of Fred. Douglass' boys carried them across 
the line and saw them to a place of safety. When other boys 
were enjoying all the comforts their parents could provide 
for them, they were made to feel that there was only one 
path for them to walk in until the great end for which they 
were striving had been reached. Brown's plan was to run 
slaves off, and in this Douglass heartily joined him, but when 
he found that Brown had decided to attempt the capture of 
Harper's Ferry, he went to him, at Chambersburg, Penn- 
sylvania, a short time before the raid, and used every argu- 
ment he could to induce him to change his plans. Brown 
had enlisted a body of men to accompany him who felt, as 
he did, that their lives were nothing as weighed against the 
lives and liberty of so many who were suffering in bond- 
age. His arms and ammunition were ready — his plans were 
all laid, and to Douglass' argument he answered: "If we 
attack Harper's Ferry, as we have now arranged, the coun- 
try will be aroused and the Negroes will see their way clear 
to liberation. We'll hold the citizens of the town as host- 

32 



ages, and so holding them can dictate onr terms. You, 
Douglass, should be one of the first to go with us," "No, 
no," replied the latter, "I can't agree with you and will not 
go with you. Your attempt can only result in utter ruin 
to you and to all who take part in it, without giving any 
substantial aid to the men in slavery. Let us rather go on 
with our first plan of the underground railroad, by which 
means slaves may be run off to the free States. By this . 

means practical results can be obtained — from insurrection 
nothing can be expected but imprisonment and death." 

"If you think so," replied Brown, "it is of course best 
that we should part." He held out his hand; Douglas 
grasped it. "Good bye! God bless you!" they exclaimed 
almost in the same breath, and then parting forever were 
soon lost to each other in the darkness. 

It was at this time discovered that Douglas and Brown 
w^ere in sympathy, and that Douglas, besides harboring- 
Brown, had furnished him money to defray expenses, thus 
making his own safety a matter of great doubt. His friends 
advised him to leave the country for a while. They were 
willing to stand by him — even to fight for him, but they felt 
that it would be wiser to avoid the danger if possible. After 
much hesitation he was induced to abide by their advice, and 
the result proved the wisdom of his having done so. He 
first went to Canada, and from there to England. Only a 
short time after his departure a requisition for his arrest was 
made by Governor Wise of Virginia. 

Mr. Douglass did not feel it necessary to hasten his re- 
turn on account of this interesting document and so re- 
mained abroad until it was safe for him to come home. In 
1863, he with others, succeeded in raising two regiments of 
colored troops, which were known as the Massachusetts 
Reg^iments. Two of his sons were among the first to enlist. 
His next move was to obtain the same pay for them that the 
white soldiers received and to have them exchanged as pris- 
oners of war — in other words that there should be no dif- 
ference made between them and other soldiers. 

His work did not end with the war. He recognized the 
fact that a new life had begun for the former slaves; that 
a great work was to be done for them and with them, and 

33 



he was ever to be found in the foremost ranks of those who 
were wilhng to put their shoulders to the wheel. 

He was one of the most indefatigable workers for the 
passage of the amendments to the Constitution granting 
the same rights to all classes of citizens, regardless of race 
or color. 

He attended the "Loyalists" Convention, held in Phila- 
delphia in 1867, being elected a delegate from Rochester. 
Some there were, who. knowing Douglass to be radical, 
feared his presence in Philadelphia would do more harm than 
good, but he felt that it was his duty to go and nothing 
could change him. 

A little incident in connection with this convention serves 
to show the value of his work, since it discloses the feeling 
of the men with whom he had to deal. As the mem.bers as- 
sembled proceeded to fall in line on their way to the place 
of meeting, each one endeavored to avoid walking beside the 
colored delegate, whereupon Theodore Tilton, noticing the 
slight, stepped up to Douglass' side and arm in arm they 
entered the chamber. This act made them life-long friends, 
a condition which continued, both being brotherly in their 
devoted friendship. 

On IMr. Douglass' visit to France some years later, he 
met Mr. Tilton. who then resided in Paris, and had a glorious 
time. 

He established the "New National Era" at Washington, 
in 1870. This paper was edited and published principally by 
Mr. Douglass and his sons, and was devoted to the cause 
of the race and the Republican party. In 1872 he took 
his family to reside in the District of Columbia. In 1871 
President Grant appointed him to the Territorial Legislature 
of the District of Columbia. In 1872 he v/as chosen one 
of the Presidential electors at large for the State of New 
York and was the elector selected to deliver a certified state- 
ment of the votes to the President of the Senate. He was 
appointed to accompany the Commissioners on their trip to 
San Domingo, pending the consideration of the annexa- 
tion of that island to the United States. 

President Grant, in January, 1877, ajjpointed him a Po- 
lice Commissioner for the District of Columbia. In March 
of the same year. President Hayes commissioned him Unit- 

34 



ed States Marshal for the District of Cokimbia. President 
Garfield, in 1881, appointed him Recorder of Deeds for the 
District of Cokimbia. This position he held until about May, 
1886, nearly a year and a half after the ascendancy to the 
National administration of the Democratic party. 

No man has begun where Frederick Douglass did and 
attained the same degree of fame. Born in a mere hovel — 
a creature of accident — with no mother to cherish and ma- 
ture him, no kindly hand to point out the goal worthy of 
emulation, and the evils to be shunned — no teacher to make 
smooth the rough and thorny paths leading to knowledge, 
his only compass was an abiding faith in God and an 
innate consciousness of his own ability and power of perse- 
verance. The following is taken from an anti-slavery speech 
delivered many years ago, and is a splendid specimen of his 
style as an orator: 

"A PERTINENT QUESTION. 

"Is it not astonishing that while we are ploughing, plant- 
ing, reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting 
houses and constructing bridges, building ships, working in 
metals of brass, iron and copper, silver and gold; that while 
we are reading, writing, ciphering, acting as clerks, mechan- 
ics and secretaries; having among us doctors, ministers, 
poets, authors, editors, orators and teachers; that while we 
are engaged in all manner of enterprises common to other 
men — digging gold in California ; capturing the whale in 
the Pacific ; breeding cattle and sheep on the hillside — living, 
moving, acting, thinking, planning; living in families as hus- 
bands, wives and children, and above all confessing and 
worshipping the Christian's God, and looking hopefully for 
immortal life beyond the grave — is it not astonishing, I say, 
that we are called upon to prove that we are men?" 

Questions : 

About what year was Frederick Douglass born? 

At what place? 

What is said of it? 

What is said of his parentage? 

Of his early childhood? 

What determination did he form? 

35 



What induced him to do this? 

Where was he sent when he was ten years of age? 

In what capacity did he serve in Baltimore? 

What were his opportunities for study? 

What did the husband of Mrs. Auld do when he dis- 
covered that she was teaching him to read ? 

What effect did this have on young Douglass? 

Where did he carry his spelling-book? 

To what use did he put the first money he earned? 

What impression was made on his mind after reading 
the "Fanaticism of Liberty" and the "Declaration of In- 
dependence?" 

Why did he run away, and from what ? 

Where did he settle, and with whom ? 

Was she a slave or free? 

Where did she live? 

Where were they married? 

Was his wife a good woman? What is said about her? 

What occupation did he follow in New Bedford? 

How did he begin to broaden his mind ? 

What led him to adopt the name "Frederick Douglas?" 

Who wrote "The Lady of the Lake?" 

When was he appointed agent of the Anti-Slavery So- 
ciety? 

What was the effect of this upon his subsequent career? 

State where he lectured while acting as agent for the 
Anti-Slavery Society, and whether he was in danger of be- 
ing recaptured and sent back into slavery? 

What did his friends finally advise him to do? 

When he went to England at whose home was he wel- 
comed ? 

What do you know about John Bright? Who was he 
and how was he interested in the negro? 

On Mr. Douglass' return to America from England, 
where did he reside? 

What paper did he establish? Give various names by 
which it was known. 

To what extent was he in sympathy with John Brown in 
his attempted raid on Harper's Ferry? 

What reason did he give for failing to take part in that 
raid? 

36 



Was it a good reason ? 

Repeat the conversation between him and John Brown 
at Chambersburg, Pa. 

Was it knowai that Douglass was in sympathy with 
Brown ? 

What did Governor Wise do towards apprehending 
Douglass? 

Where was Douglass at this time? 

On his second return to America from England what did 
he do towards furnishing troops for the war? Give details. 

What is said of his labors to secure the passage of the 
amendments to the Constitution? 

What are these amendments? 

For what purpose were they passed? 

When did he attend the "Loyalist" Convention? 

Where w-as it held? 

In what capacity did he go? 

What significant incident took place at that convention? 

Who accompanied Mr. Douglass to the place of meet- 



ing? 



When did he establish the "New National Era?" 

What was the "New National Era?" 

When did he bring his family to reside in the District 
of Columbia ? 

To what ofifice did President Grant appoint him ? What 
year was this? 

When w^as he chosen Presidential elector at large, and 
from what State ? What important duty did he perform as 
such elector? 

To what office was he appointed in January, 1877, and by 
whom ? 

What President commissioned him to fill another im- 
portant office, and what was it? 

When was he appointed Recorder of Deeds for the Dis- 
trict of Columbia? 

Who appointed him Minister to Hayti, and when was he 
so appointed? 

Did he serve his term of office or did he resign? 

Can you repeat from memory the extract from an anti- 
slavery speech delivered by him many years ago ? 

Z7 



Major Martin Robinson De Laney. 

(By Permission of Lee & Sheppard, Boston, Mass.) 

The subject of this sketch was the son of Samuel and 
Pati De Laney, and was born at Charlestown, Virginia, May 
6, 1812. He was named for his godfather, a colored Baptist 
clergyman, who, it appeared, gave nothing beyond his name 
to his godson. 

In the name "De Laney" the character of the man him- 
self is peculiarly illustrated. 

Regarding it as not legally belonging to his family by 
consanguinity, and suspicious of its having been borrowed 
from the whites, as was the custom of those days, he always 
expressed himself as though it was distasteful to him, re- 
calling, as it did, recollections of the servitude of his family. 
With these memories clinging to it, his pride revolted at re- 
taining that which he believed originated with the op- 
pressors of his ancestors, and although he had made the 
name honorable in other lands beside our own — enriched it 
with the glory of a steadfast adherence to freedom's cause 
in the Nation's darkest hours, and by uncompromising fi- 
delity to his race, which constitutes him one of the brightest 
beacons for the rising generation, he eagerly awaits the op- 
portunity for its erasure. 

His pride of birth is traceable to his maternal as well as 
his paternal grandfather, native Africans — on the father's 
side pure Golah, and on the mother's side Mandingo. 
His father's father was a chieftain and with his family was 
captured during a war, sold as slaves, and brought to Amer- 
ica. He fled at one time from Virginia, where he was en- 
slaved, taking with him his wife, and two sons born to him 
on this continent, and after various wanderings reached Lit- 
tle York — as Toronto, Canada, was then called — un- 
molested. But even there he was pursued, and "by some 
fiction of law, international policy, old musty treaty, cozenly 
understood," says Major De Laney, he was brought back 
to the United States. The fallen old chief is said to have 
lost his life in an encounter with some slave-holders who 
attempted to chastise him into submission. 

On the mother's side the claim receives additional 
strength. The story runs that her father was an African 

38 



Prince from the Niger Valley reg-ions of Central Africa, and 
was captured, when young, during hostilities between the 
IMandineroes, Fellahtos and Haussa's, and was sold and 
brought to America at the same time as his betrothed, Graci. 

His name was Shango, surnamed Peace, from that of a 
great African deity of protection, which is represented in 
their worship as a ram's head with the attribute of fire. The 
forms and attributes of this deity are so described as to 
render it probable that the idol Shango, of modern Africa, 
is the same to which ancient Egypt paid divine homage 
under the name of Ammon — the sun god. 

This still remaining the popular deity of all the regions 
of Central Africa is an evidence sufficient in itself to prove 
not only his nativity, but his descent, for in accordance 
W'ith the laws of the people of that region none took save 
by inheritance so sacred a name as Shango, and the one 
thus named was entitled to the chief power. From this 
source the American family claim their ancestry. 

Shango at an early period of his servitude in America 
regained his liberty and returned to Africa. Whether he 
owed his freedom to the fact that the slave system was not 
so thoroughly established at that time — that is, had not 
legal existence — or that the early slave holders had not lost 
their claims to civilization, is not clear, but the slave holders 
recognized the fact that an xA.frican of noble birth could not 
be held enslaved, and it was in consideration of this knowl- 
edge by the slave holders that Shango, after producing 
proofs of his noble birth, was perm.itted to return to his 
native home. His wife, Graci, was afterwards returned to 
freedom for the same reason. She remained in America, and 
died at the home of her daughter Pati (Major De Laney's 
mother), at the age of 107. These facts were fully au- 
thenticated by Major De Laney while on his famous ex- 
ploring tour, at which time he travelled from Golah to Cen- 
tral Africa, through the Niger Valley regions, and recogniz- 
ing his opportunity, he consulted, among others, that learned 
native autlior, Agi, knowm to fame as the Rev. Samuel 
Crowther, D. D., who was created Bishop of Niger by the 
Church of England, and received the degree of Doctor of 
Divinity from the University of Oxford. From all infor- 
mation obtained it is satisfactorily proved that his grand- 

39 



mother, having died about fifty-three years ago — as before 
stated — his grandfather's age would correspond with that 
period, which is about one hundred and sixty years. The 
custom of an heir to royalty taking the name of a native 
deity was at that time recognized, as was also the fact that 
his grandfather was heir to the kingdom — which was then 
the most powerful of Central Africa — but he lost his royal 
inheritance by the still prevailing custom of slavery and 
expatriation as a result of subjugation. There is a possi- 
bility, however, that some day before the "star of empire 
westward takes it way," "the petty chieftains and princi- 
palities south of the Sahara" may be united into one grand 
consolidated kingdom, and this as a result of some Negro's 
intellect and might. 

To possess himself of knowledge of the early origin of 
his family was in keeping with a mind richly endowed and 
soaring always far beyond the confines which the prejudices 
of this country apportioned him. Not that he expected this 
knowledge to elevate him in America, for he knew that cus- 
tom and education were alike adverse to this, and scarcely 
allowed him to declare with freedom from derision the im- 
mortal sentence, "I am a man," or to claim the rights 
legitimately belonging to man's estate. By observing his 
history it may yet be proved that the sequel is but the goal 
of his earlier determination, and not of recent conception. 
It was nursed from his high-minded Mandingo-Golah 
mother, and heard in the chants of a Mandingo grand- 
mother, being depicted with all the gorgeous imagery of 
the tropics as the story of the lost regal inheritance. It was 
in this way that he became imbued with the same spirit, 
which shaped itself in the dreams of his childhood and en- 
twined itself about his studies and the pursuits of his youth, 
and through that remarkable perseverance which character- 
izes him it was realized in the full vigor of manhood — the 
determination to trace his ancestors' history on the soil 
of its origin. Thus Africa and her past and future glory 
became entwined around every fibre of his being, and to 
the work of replacing her among the powers of the earth 
and exalting her scattered descendants on this continent, 
he devoted himself wholly, with an earnestness to which 
the personal sacrifices made by him throughout his life bear 

40 



witness. Said he on one occasion, "While in America I 
would be a republican, strictly democratic, conforniini^ to 
the letter of the law in every requirement of a republican 
government, in a monarchy I would as strictly conform to its 
requirements, having no scruples at titles, or objection to 
royalty, believing only in impartial and equitable laws, let 
that government be what it might ; believing that only pref- 
erable under just laws which is best adapted to the genius 
of the people. 

"I would not advocate monarchy in the United States, 
or republicanism in Europe ; yet I would be either king 
or president consistently with the form of government in 
which I was called to act. But I would be neither president 
nor king except to promote the happiness, advance and se- 
cure the rights and liberty of the people on the basis of 
justice, equality and impartiality before the law." Such are 
the principles to which he adheres. Unpopular as they were, 
they did not unfit him for the duties of a republican citizen, 
owing to his ready adaptation to the circumstances in which 
he happened to be placed for promoting the interests of his 
race, for next to his pride of birth — and almost inseparable 
from it — comes his pride of race, which serves to distinguish 
him from the noted colored men of his day. The following 
— an apt illustration — is a remark made by the distinguished 
Douglass. Said he : "I thank God for making me a man 
simply; but De Laney always thanks Him for making him 
a black man." 

Upon reaching London he made known his determina- 
tion to obtain while in Africa a correct knowledge of his 
ancestry to the distinguished Henry Yen, D. D., late tutor 
of mathematics and Latin and Greek in Cambridge College, 
and now secretary of the Church Missionary Society, Salis- 
bury Square. The generous philanthropist at once stated 
that he had but one copy of Koehler's 'Tolyglotta Afri- 
cana," a work gotten up at great expense and labor express- 
ly as a church publication— the price being four or five 
pounds sterling— but that De Laney, of all living men, had 
a legitimate right to it, and therefore should have it, and he 
at once presented it to him. this probably being the only 
copy in America. In this book the high status claimed for 
his ancestry received additional proof. 

41 



Early Education* 

In the recent struggle through which the Nation has 
passed, like convulsions sometimes of certain portions of 
the physical world, old features and landmarks are swept 
away and new features are apparent developing on the sur- 
face, the existence of which vary little, if any, from those 
heretofore known. 

A class has been invoked into action to whose sublime 
patience and enduring heroism the genius of poetry will 
turn for inspiration, while future historians, recognizing evi- 
dences of the statesmanship which they have exhibited 
through the dark night of slavery, will place them amid the 
brightest constellations of our time. This class exhibited 
the same anomaly in the midst of slavery that the slaves in 
a government whose doctrines taught liberty and equality 
to all men, and under whose banner the exile and fugitive 
found refuge, presented to the civilization of this century. 
They were an intermediate class in all the slave States stand- 
ing between the whites and the bond men, known as the free 
colored, debarred from enjoying the privileges of the one, but 
superior in condition to the other, more however by suffer- 
ance than by actual law. While they were the stay of the one, 
they were the object of distrust to the other, and at the 
same time subject to the machinations and jealousies of the 
non-slave holders, whom they rivalled in mechanical skill 
and trade. Prior to the rebellion these represented a fair 
proportion of wealth and culture, both attributable to their 
own thrift and energy. Unlike the same class in the North, 
they had but little, if any, foreign competition in the various 
departments of labor or trade against which to contend. Im- 
migration not being encouraged at the South as at the 
North, could not effect their progress, thus leaving all ave- 
nues open to the free colored, while they were excluded 
from the more liberal and learned professions. Under this 
state of society was engendered an habitual watchfulness of 
public measures making them tenacious of their rights and 
immunities in every community where they were found and 
peculiarly sensitive to the slightest indication of encroach- 
ments which resulted in developing in them a foresight and 
sagacity not surpassed in others whose individual status was 
less closely allied with political measures. 

42 



From this class sprang the honored and scholarly Daniel 
E. Paine, Bishop of the A. M. E. Church, that great re- 
ligious body the power of which is destined to be felt in 
America, and the influence of which is to be circumscribed 
only by the ocean ; the noble Denmark Vesey of South Caro- 
lina, who sealed his devotion to the cause of freedom with 
his life, was of this class. 

Before the walls of Petersburg these were among the 
gallant soldiers who gave battle to the trained veterans of 
Lee, and at the ramparts of Wagner they waded to victory 
in blood. Amid these uncertain surroundings was the boy- 
hood of Martin De Laney passed. In childhood the play- 
mate of John Avis, of Charleston, in manhood the associate 
of the immortal Brown of Ossawatamie in a measure which 
ultimately resulted in rendering the name of the kind-heart- 
ed Virginian historic in connection with his illustrious cap- 
tive. With all the schools closed against them in Virginia, 
it was not until about ]8i8 that his brothers and sisters ever 
attempted to receive instruction. With the vast domain of 
Virginia at this date teeming with school houses, attended 
by thousands of colored children and instructed by white 
Northern teachers, as well as those of their own race, the 
tuition of the De Laney children forms a singular contrast. 
The famous New York Primer and Spelling-Book was 
brought to them about that time by itinerant Yankee ped- 
dlers, trading in rags and old pewter and giving in exchange 
for these, new tinware, school books and stationery. These 
peddlers always found it convenient and profitable likewise, 
to leave their peculiar looking box wagon to whisper into 
the ear of a black, "You've as much right to learn to read 
as these whites," and looking at their w^atches, "had a snigger 
of a time left yet to stay a little and give a lesson or so ;" 
these didn't charge, only — ''give me what ye mind to." It 
was under such covert tuition and with such instructors, in 
the humble home of Pati De Laney that young Martin, to- 
gether wnth his brothers and sisters, were taught to read 
and write. 

Later on we find young De Laney a student of Rev. 
Louis Woodson, a colored gentleman of fine talents, em- 
ployed by an educational society of Pittsburg, Pa., which had 
previously been organized by the colored people of that city. 

43 



Under the supervision of this gentleman, during the winter 
of 1 83 1, his progress in the common branches were such as 
to warrant his promotion to the more advanced studies. It 
was commonly said by his friends at school that his reten- 
tiveness of history — his favorite study — was so remarkable 
that he seemed to have recited from the palm of his hand. 
A young student of Jefferson, seventeen miles distant, who 
frequently spent his vacation at Pittsburg, assisted him in 
his difficult studies, as they occupied the same room. While 
studying together, they conceived the plan for benefiting 
other young men of like tastes, by forming an association 
for their intellectual and moral improvement. It soon be- 
came popular and the Thebean Literary Society was after- 
wards formed. 

In 1843 he established a weekly newspaper at Pittsburg, 
under the title of the "Mystery," devoted to the interests 
and elevation of his race. Success followed the movement. 
The first issue in all taken was one thousand in the city. 
Its circulation rapidly increased. For more than one year 
he conducted it as editor. After sustaining it for nine 
months he transferred the proprietorship to a committee of 
six gentlemen, he meanwhile continuing as editor for nearly 
four years. It was well conducted, and held no mean po- 
sition in the community, especially where it originated. The 
editorials of his journal elicited praise even from its enemies 
and were frequently transferred to their columns. His de- 
scription of the great fire in 1844 i" Pittsburg, which laid a 
great portion of that manufacturing city in ruins, was exten- 
sively quoted by papers throughout the country. The origin-^l 
matter so frequently copied was sufficient to determine the 
status of the paper. 

It happened in the warmth of his zeal for the freedom 
of the enslaved, that he, through the columns of his paper, 
charged a certain colored man with treachery to his race by 
assisting the slave catchers, who at that time frequented 
Pennsylvania and other free States. The accused entered 
a suit for libel, through advice probably of some of his ac- 
complices, who were whites, as it is evident his calling would 
preclude the possibility of the individual to think himself 
aggrieved. The presiding judge before whom the case was 
tried, having no sympathy with abolitionists and less with 

44 



that class of Negroes represented by Martin De Laney, took 
great pains to impress upon the minds of the jury in his 
charge to them the extent of the offence of Hbcl. After 
their verdict of guilty was rendered a fine of two hundred 
dollars together with the cost of prosecution, which amount- 
ed to about two hundred and fifty dollars, was imposed. 

In view of a fine so unusually high for that which was 
considered a just exposure of an evil which then existed to 
the detriment of one class of the inhabitants, an appeal was 
immediately made by the press of Pittsburg for a public 
subscription, in order that it might be borne in common, 
instead of allowing it to rest solely upon this faithful sen- 
tinel. A subscription was opened at the office of the Pitts- 
burg Daily Dispatch, which led off first in the appeal. The 
chivalric Governor Joseph Ritner was in office then — he 
for whom freedom's sweetest bard invoked the muse to link 
his name with immortality. About one week after the suit, 
and before the sum could be raised, the Governor remitted 
the fine. This was occasioned through a petition origin- 
ating with his able counsel, the late William E. Austin, 
which was signed not only by all the lawyers of the court, 
but it is said by the bench of judges, thus leaving the costs 
only to be paid by him. The success of this suit however 
served to embolden the slave hunters, and again did this 
faithful sentinel give the alarm ; but this time his language 
while it unmistakably pointed to the guilty party was care- 
fully chosen, in order to avoid litigation. These determined 
to drive him from his post, so formidable to them, still so 
valiantly held by him, again entered suit against him, but 
their former success established no precedent for the second. 
In the prosecution of this case another jurist sat in 
judgment, the term of the pro-slavery judge having expired. 
In his charge to the jury, the eminent judge, William B. 
McClure, made special reference to the position of the de- 
fendant, to his efforts in behalf of his race and his useful- 
ness in the community, then addressing himself more point- 
edly to the jury he added : "I am well acquainted with Dr. 
De Laney and have a very high respect for him; I regard 
him as a gentleman and a very useful citizen. No Pitts- 
burger at least will believe him capable of willingly doing 
injustice to any one, especially his own race. I cannot my- 

45 



self, after a careful examination, see in this case anything 
to justify a verdict against the defendant." This resulted 
in a verdict of acquittal without the jury leaving the box. 

On another occasion he was the recipient of forensic 
compliment, facetiously given because also of the source 
from which it emanated and because he was not present at 
the court to suggest the remarks of the attorney in the 
midst of the pleading. 

A highly respectable colored man was under trial, 
charged with a serious offense. His counsel, an influential 
lawyer, Cornelius Danagh, Esq. — afterwards Attorney-Gen- 
eral of the State under Governor William T. Johnson, of 
Pennsylvania — declared the prosecution as arising from 
prejudice of color against his client. The prosecution was 
conducted by the late Colonel Samuel W. Black, who served 
under General McClellan and fell in the seven-days' fight 
before Richmond. "They tell you," said he, in his peculiarly 
forcible style, "that we have brought on this prosecution 
through prejudice to color. I deny it; neither does the 
learned counsel believe it. Look at Martin De Laney of 
this city, whom everybody knows, and the gentleman knows 
only to respect him. Would any person in this community 
make such a charge against him? Could such a prosecution 
be gotten up against him? No, it could not. and the learned 
counsel knows it could not, and De Laney is blacker than 
a whole generation of the defendant boiled down to a quart." 

It happened while travelling in behalf of the North Star, 
he stopped at Detroit, Michigan, and attended a trial in the 
Supreme Court. Justice John McLean presiding, before 
whom Dr. Comstock, a gentleman of respectability and 
wealth, and others of that State, were arraigned, on charge 
of aiding and abetting the escape of a family of blacks from 
Kentucky, known as the Crosswaits. In the case it had 
been proven satisfactorily that Dr. Comstock had nothing 
to do with their escape, but having heard of the affair (being 
two or three miles distant), he came to the scene of con- 
tusion just in time to hear the threats and regrets of the 
defeated slave hunter Grossman. The doctor stood there 
enjoying the discomfiture, and expressed himself to a 
friend, "he hoped they would not be overtaken." For this 
Judge McLean ruled him guilty as an accomplice in the 

46 



escape, stating that it "was the duty of all good citizens 
to do all they could to prevent it ; and whether by housing, 
feeding, supplying means or conveyances, throwing himself 
or other obstructions in the way, or standing quietly by 
v\ith his hands in his breeches pockets, smiling consent, it 
Avas equally aiding and abetting, hindering and obstructing, 
in the escape of slaves and therefore such person w-as re- 
reprehensible before the law as particcps criiiiiiiis and must 
be held to answer." 

This novel decision of the judges of the Supreme Court 
was so startling to him at that time — for alas! decisions 
more wounding to the honor of the Nation have since eman- 
ated from the Supreme Court — that he hastened to report in 
the North Star the proceedings of the trial, which he had 
taken down while sitting in the court room. This publica- 
tion, like a wronged and angry Nemesis, seemed to reach 
various points in time to be made available especially by 
those attending the great Free Soil Convention at Bufifalo. 
Everywhere was the infamous decision discussed with more 
or less warmth, according to the political creed of the 
debaters; then the reliability of the writer received some 
attention. The North Star may have been sufficient au- 
thority had the correspondent who reported the McLean 
decision been Mr. Frederick Douglass, who had both "credit 
and renown," while the initials of the undersigned could be 
known from the title page of the paper (as the full name 
of each appeared as editors and proprietors) — "who is he?" 
became the subject of inquiry among the throng of dele- 
gates, who could not be censured for not know'ing but one 
black man of ability and character in the United States, and 
supposing it to be impossible that there should be more than 
one. The mass convention assembled outside — supposed to 
have numbered forty thousand — filling the public square, 
hotels and many of the streets, and about six thousand of 
whom occupied the great Oberlin tent, which had been ob- 
tained for the purpose, and constituted the acting body of the 
mass convention, w-hile four hundred and fifty of the credited 
delegates were detailed as the executive of the great body 
and assembled in a church near by, before whom all business 
was brought and prepared before presenting it to the body 
for action. The Hon. Chas. Francis Adams, late Minister to 

47 



the Court of St. James, was president of the mass conven- 
tion, the Hon. Sahnon P. Chase, late Chief Justice of the 
United States Supreme Court, chairman or president of the 
executive body. Strange to say in an assemblage like this, 
so vast and renowned, the report from the columns of the 
North Star found its way, and as subsequently appeared, was 
the subject of weighty discussion. We give the marked 
circumstances as told by Dr. De Laney. He says: — that 
"while quietly seated in the midst of the great assembly, a 
tall gentleman, in the habiliments of a clergyman, and of a 
most attractive. Christianlike countenance, was for a long 
time observed edging his way, as well as he could, 
between the packed seats, now and again stooping and 
whispering as if inquiring. Presently he was lost sight of 
for a moment ; soon a gentleman behind him touched him 
on the shoulder, called his attention, when the gentleman 
in question walked toward him stooping with the paper in 
his hand, pointed to the article concerning Judge McLean's 
decision, and inquired, 'Are you Dr. M. R. De Laney?' 'I 
am sir,' replied he. 'Are you one of the editors of the North 
Star, sir?' 'Yes sir, I am' (feeling very likely most uncom- 
fortable by this attention). 'Are these your initials, and did 
you write this article concerning Justice McLean in the case 
of Dr. Comstock and others and the Crosswait family?' 'That 
is my article and there are my initials, sir.' 'I've but one 
more question to ask you; did you hear Judge McLean de- 
liver this decision, or did you receive the information from 
a third party?' demanded the questioner. 'I sat in the court 
room each day and reported only what I heard, having writ- 
ten down everything as it occured,' returned Dr. De Laney. 
'That is all, sir, I am satisfied,' concluded the stranger, de- 
parting from the great pavilion and going directly across 
the street wherein sat the executive business part of the 
convention, leaving the corresponding editor of the North 
Star in a most aggravated state of conjecture. 

"Soon after there was a great move forward and amidst 
■deafening applause, the Hon. Salmon P. Chase ascended 
the platform and announced that for reasons sufifiiciently sat- 
isfactory to the executive council, the name of Judge John 
McLean of Ohio, had been dropped as a candidate for the 
Presidency of the United States, and that of Martin Van 

48 



Buret! substituted ; and he had been selected by the council 
to make this statement from considerations of the relation- 
ship which he bore to the rejected nominee ; so that his 
friends in the convention might understand that it was no 
act of political injustice by which the change was made." 

After a brilliant and useful career, Dr. De Laney return- 
ed to his home in Pittsburg, not for the purpose of resting 
upon the laurels so fairly won, but rather for recuperating 
his forces for the field of toil again. Here he resumed his 
favorite study of medicine, and upon the strength of the 
preceptorship of his former instructors, Dr. Joseph P. Gaz- 
zan and Francis J. Lemoyne, he was received into the medi- 
cal department of Harvard University. After leaving- Har- 
vard, he travelled westward and lectured on physiological 
subjects — the comparative anatomical and physical confor- 
mation of the cranium of the Caucasian and the Negro races 
— besides giving class lectures. These he rendered success- 
ful ; while his arguments on these subjects were in strict 
conformity to acknowledged scientific principles, they are 
also marked by his peculiar and original theories. On his 
return to Pittsburg after his lecturing tour, he entered upon 
the duties of a physician, for which his native benevolence 
and scientific ardor eminently qualified him. Here he w^as 
known as a successful practitioner. His skillful treatment 
of the cholera which prevailed to some extent in Pittsburg 
in 1854, is still remembered. 

He published a call for a National Emigration Con- 
vention, and it finding favor, there assembled at Cleveland, 
Ohio, in August, 1854, many of the eminent colored men 
of the Northern and Western States, to discuss the ques- 
tion of immigration. 

At this convention he was made president pro-tem to 
organize, and afterw^ard chairman of the business commit- 
tee. Before this body he read an address, entitled ''The 
Destiny of the Colored Race in America." This production 
won for its author praise for its literary merit as well as 
for its concise and able views on the principles of govern- 
ment. 

In February, 1856, he removed to Chatham, Kent Coun- 
ty, Canada, where he continued the practice of medicine. 

In the early part of 1859 there sailed from New York, 

49 



in the bark ]\Iendi, owned by three colored African mer- 
chants, the first colored explorers from the United States, 
known as the Niger Valley exploring party, at the head of 
which was its projector, Dr. De Laney. 

On the twenty-sixth day of February, 1865, he was com- 
missioned by President Lincoln, Major in the 104th Regi- 
ment, United States colored troops in the service of the 
United States. He was the first colored man ever honored 
by an appointment to the regular army by a President of the 
United vStates. 

He has a remarkable history, which we would gladly 
give in detail, but our limited space forbids any further ref- 
erence to his splendid life work in behalf of humanity op- 
pressed. He was a man of action, energy and brains, and he 
convinced the m.ost skeptical that their impressions of the 
Neg-ro were erroneous and that ''he is a man !" 

Questions : 

When and where was Major De Laney born? 

What are the names of his parents? 

How did he regard his family name? 

What was his belief about its real origin? 

For whom was he named? 

To w'hom is his pride of birth traceable? 

What is said of his father's father? 

How did he lose his life? 

What is the history of his mother? Father? (Give in 
detail.) 

How did early slave holders treat Africans of noble blood 
on proofs of such claims? 

What is the significance and meaning of Shango? 

By what name did the Egyptians know it? 

What claim is made by Dr. De Laney for his family 
origin ? 

How did he establish that claim? 

What was Shango's wife's name and how old was she 
when she died? 

Did she return to Africa with her husband? 

Jn whose family did she live in America ? 

How did Dr. De Laney authenticate the facts here stated 
as to the origin of his family? 

CO 



Where is the Niger Valley? 

What learned native author did he consult about the mat- 
ter while in Africa? 

By what name was the author known to fame ? 

What university conferred the degree of Doctor of 
Divinity on this learned African? 

Who made him Bishop of Niger? 

Whom did Dr. De Laney meet wdiile in London, and 
what took place at that meeting? (Repeat the conver- 
sation.) 

Was the work given to him of much value ? How much 
is this in United States money? 

Did it furnish any further proofs of the correctness of 
his claim to ro3'al ancestry? 

How did Dr. De Laney first learn to read and write? 

Who taught him the common branches, and what prog- 
ress did he make? 

What was his favorite study? 

When did he establish the Mystery? 

What was its success ? 

How many libel suits did he have ? 

How did each of them end? 

What did the judge who tried the case against him say 
of him? 

What was the result of his report to the North Star, of 
the decision of Judge McLean against Dr. Comstock and 
others in the Crossw^ait case? 

What announcement did Chief Justice Chase make to 
the Nominating Convention at Buffalo ? 

Where did Dr. De Laney study medicine? 

Where is Harvard University? 

Where did he practice his profession? 

Upon what special subjects did he lecture? 

What is said of his theories? 

Was he a successful practitioner? 

What is said of his treatment of the cholera during its 
prevalence in Pittsburg in 1854? 

In what year did he issue a call for a National Emigra- 
tion Convention? 

Where did it assemble? 

51 



What was the title of the address delivered before this 
convention by him? 

How was it spoken of? 

When did he move to Chatham, Canada, and what did 
he do there? 

When did he sail for Africa, and from what point? 

Who owned the bark? What was its name, and the 
name of the party it bore? Who was at the head of that 

party? 

When was he commissioned a Alajor in the United States 

Army, and by whom? 



Toussaint L^Ouverture. 

"Toussaint, the most unhappy man of men! 
Whether the whistling rustic tend his plough, 
Within thy hearing, or thou liest now 
Buried in some deep dungeon's earless den ; — 
O miserable chieftain! where and when 
Wilt thou find patience? Yet die not ; do then 
Wear rather in thy bonds, a cheerful brow. 
Though fallen thyself, never to rise again, 
Live and take comfort, Thou hast left behind 
Pow-ers that will work for thee — air, earth and sky; 
There's not a breathing of the common wind 
That will forget thee — thou hast great allies ; 
Thy friends are exultations, agonies. 
And love, and man's unconquerable mind." 

— Wordsworth. 

Toussaint L'Ouverture was born on the plantation of 
the Count de Noe, situated a few miles from Cape Francois, 
in the Island of St. Domingo, in 1743, or 1745. His parents 
were African slaves on the count's estate. His father, it is 
said, was the second son of Gaou Guinou, the king of a 
powerful African tribe, who being taken prisoner by a hos- 
tile people, was sold to some white merchants who carried 
him to St. Domingo, where he was purchased by the Count 
de Noe. 

Being more kindly treated by his master than is usually 
the lot of his race, the son of Gaou Guinou was comparative- 

52 



ly happy in a state of slavery. He married a fellow-slave 
girl of his own country, and by her he had eight children, 
five sons and three daughters. Of the sons, Toussaint was 
the eldest. 

The first employment of Toussaint was to tend the cat- 
tle, and the earliest recollections of his character, w-ere of 
his gentleness, thoughtfulness and strong religious tenden- 
cies. One thing is certain, that Toussaint's good qualities 
soon attracted the attention of Bayou de Libertas, the agent 
of the estate, who treated him kindly, and by some means 
he learned to read and write and acquired some knowledge 
of arithmetic. But whether the agent caused him to be 
taught, or whether he owed his knowledge to a Negro named 
Pierre Baptiste, or whether he learned by noticing others, 
is disputed. Pierre Baptiste w^as a black on the same plan- 
tation, a shrewd and intelligent man, who had acquired con- 
siderable information, having been educated by some benev- 
olent missionaries. 

An intimacy sprung up between Pierre and young Tous- 
saint, and it is probable that all that Pierre had learned from 
the missionaries, Toussaint learned from him. However 
this may have been, certain it was, that the acquisitions of 
Toussaint, which also included a little knowledge of Latin, 
and some idea of geometry, were considerably more than 
were possessed by one in ten thousand of his fellow slaves ; 
and it would seem a fortunate circumstance, that so great a 
natural genius should thus be singled out to receive the 
unusual gift of a little instruction. 

Toussaint's qualifications, in conjunction with his regular 
and amiable deportment, gained him the love and esteem 
of his master, and led to his promotion. 

He was taken from the labors of the field, and made the 
coachman of M. Bayou, the overseer — a post of consider- 
able dignity, a situation indeed as high as a Negro could at 
that time hope to fill. The increased opportunities his situ- 
ation afforded were employed in cultivating his talents and 
collecting those stores of information which enriched his 
mind, and prepared him for a more extensive and important 
sphere of action. In this and in higher situations to which 
he was subsequently advanced, his conduct was irreproach- 
able, and while he gained the confidence of his master, every 

53 



Negro on the plantation held him in respect. He was noted 
for his benevolence, sedateness. and invincible patience. His 
relig^ion taught him to endure patiently and refrain from in- 
flicting upon others anything which he would not have in- 
flicted upon himself. Through life, in the lowest humilia- 
tion of his servitude, and in the majesty of his virtual sov- 
erignty. he was temperate in all kinds of enjoyments, and 
remarkable for preferring the pleasures of the mind to those 
of the body, manifesting singular strength of religious senti- 
ment. 

In person Toussaint was about the middle size, with a 
striking countenance, and a robust constitution, capable of 
enduring great fatigue. At the age of twenty-five he mar- 
ried a woman, to whom he always manifested the most un- 
swerving attachment, uniting with her in all the cares of 
domestic life. They had several children, who became ob- 
jects of his tender, afifectionate. and parental solicitude, and 
they were brought up with great judgment and tenderness. 

At the period when the French Revolution broke out, 
St. Domingo belonged partly to the Spaniards and partly 
to the French. This beautiful island, which lies near to 
Jamaica, is 390 miles long, and 140 miles broad at its widest 
part ; about two-thirds of it belonged to the Spaniards, and 
the remainder, the western end, to the French. 

The part belonging to the French was divided into three 
provinces, in which were a few flourishing towns, and many 
rich plantations, cultivated by slaves. It contains some high 
mountains, and many beautiful valleys, shaded with cacao 
groves and coffee plantations, while in the plains were fields 
of cotton, sugar, and tobacco, separated from each other by 
hedges of limes, citrons and beautiful flowering shrubs. The 
inhabitants of the French provinces of the island were of 
three kinds : planters, who were whites (Frenchmen or their 
descendants). French people of color, and slaves. The num- 
ber of these three classes were supposed to be nearly as 
follows in 1790: 

Whites 30,800 

Free people of color 24.000 

Slaves 480,400 

So that there were nearly sixteen times as many slaves 
as whites; while at the same time, the free people of color 

54 



might l)y themselves, have been ahnost a match for the 
whites in case of a war of races. 

When the French Revolution broke out, news arrived 
in the colony of St. Domingo of what was doing in France. 
It might have been supposed that the planters, a small body 
of gentlemen holding a large body of slaves, and living in 
the midst of mulattoes to whom though free, they would 
not allow the rights of citizenship, would have been anxious 
to prevent anything being said about the rights of men, and 
upon social equality. It strangely happened, however, that 
when they were speaking of man and his rights, they were 
only speaking of white men, and it seemed never to have 
occurred to them, that dark complexioned men would de- 
sire or endeavor to obtain their share of social freedom. 
The mulattoes, however, considered that they were as much 
entitled to social liberty of any kind as any other men, and 
while the white planters were drinking popular toasts, and 
displaying the banners sent over to them from France and 
hailing a new age of the world (forgetting that they were 
all the time oppressing the mulattoes and holding fellow- 
men as property), their dusky neighbors w-ere planing how 
they might best claim from the French government the 
rights of citizenship, from which they were shut out by the 
proud w'hites. 

When the insurrection of the Negroes commenced, Tous- 
saint was about forty-eight years of age, and still a slave 
on the plantation on which he was born, in the midst of the 
district in which hostilities first began. Great exertions 
were made by the insurgents to induce a Negro of his re- 
spectability and reputation to join them ; but he steadily re- 
fused. He feared and believed that their objects were re- 
venge and plunder: he mourned over their excesses, and 
kept quiet himself, in the conviction that it was better to 
endure personal injuries than to avenge them. 

The moment, however, he perceived that the struggle 
was of a political nature and that the rights of a class were 
in question, he joined his brethren, and stepped in a moment 
out of slavery into freedom. He had nothing to do with 
the fires and massacres of August, 1791, but joined the in- 
surgents as soon as he was convinced that they had a prin- 
ciple of Union, and an end in view. 

55 



When the plantation was endangered by the approach 
of the Negro forces, with considerable care and ingenuity, 
and at the risk of his own life, he secured the safety of his 
master and family by secreting them in the woods for 
several days, and finally provided for their escape from the 
island, by putting them on board of an American vessel with 
a considerable quantity of produce on which the fugitives 
might be able to support themselves in exile. Nor did his 
gratitude end here; after their settlement at Baltimore, he 
availed himself of every opportunity of making them such 
remittances as he could snatch from the wreck of their prop- 
erty, frequently sending them some additional proof of his 
gratitude and friendship. 

Conduct so noble, in the midst of such barbarities as 
were then enacting indicated great originality and moral in- 
dependence of character. Having performed what he con- 
sidered to be an act of duty, in providing for the safety of 
his master, Toussaint, who had now no tie to retain him 
longer in servitude, perceiving both reason and justice in 
the struggle which his oppressed race were making to re- 
gain their liberty, attached himself to the body of Negroes. 
Presenting himself to the black General, Jean Francois, he 
was received in the army, in which he at once assumed a 
leading rank. 

Toussaint was posted at Marmalade with his Negro 
troops, under the command of a Spanish General, when he 
heard the decree of the French Convention of February 4, 
1794, which confirmed and proclaimed the liberty of all 
slaves, and declared St. Domingo to be an integral part of 
France. This news opened his eyes to the truth, that in 
opposing the republicans he was fighting against the free- 
dom of the l)lacks. He lost no time in communicating with 
Laveaux, the republican commander, and in a few days 
joined him with a considerable Negro force, delivering up 
several Spanish posts of great importance. 

The Spanish General Hermona, had exclaimed a few days 
before, on seeing Toussaint receive the sacrament, that 
"God never visited a purer spirit." But now confusion and 
terror reigned among the Spaniards and the name of the 
Negro commander was hated as it had before been honored. 
The power which Toussaint speedily obtained over the ig- 

56 



norant and barbarous soldiery (the released slaves whom 
he commanded), was indeed w^onderful enough to fix the 
attention of all who were around him, the wisest and most 
experienced of whom were as much under the spell of his 
influence as the degraded. To assist him in his military oper- 
ations, we are told in some curious notes written by his son 
"that imitating the example of the captains of antiquity — 
Lucullus, Pompey, Caesar, and others— he constructed a 
topographical chart of that part of the island, marking ac- 
curately the position of the hills, the course of the streams, 
etc." So much did he harass the commissioners, that when 
the Spanish posts fell one after another into the hands of 
the French, one of them exclaimed, "Get homme fait ouver- 
ture partout !" ("this man makes an opening everywhere"). 
This expression getting abroad, was the cause of Toussaint 
being ever afterwards called by the name of Toussaint 
L'Ouverture, which may be translated, Toussaint the opener, 
or the opening. Toussaint willingly adopted it, building 
upon it an assurance to his dark brethren that through him 
they were to obtain a bright and peaceful future. We shall 
have space only for a few^ more paragraphs concerning this 
distinguished Negro General, the purpose of which will be 
to show to the reader that he was a man of the strictest 
probity and integrity, and possessed of the keenest sense 
of honor and justice. 

The English General, Maitland, seeing the hopelessness 
of continuing an enterprise which had cost so many British 
lives, opened a negotiation with Toussaint, which ended in 
a treaty for the evacuation of the island by the British Army. 

It is said that in the archives of the capital of Haiti there 
is a copy of a proposition that Toussaint should be acknowl- 
edged by England, on condition of his agreeing to a treaty 
of exclusive commerce with Great Britain. Toussaint was 
too wary to agree prematurely to these proposals, but he 
accepted the evacuation of the British ports and the rich 
presents of plate and two brass cannons, offered by the 
English General. He took possession of the principal posts 
amid great pomp. The British troops lined the road; a 
Catholic priest met him in procession wnth the Host ; and he 
was received and entertained in a magnificent tent with all 

57 



the pomp of military ceremonial. After the feast he reviewed 
the British troops. 

A characteristic anecdote is related of Toussaint's con- 
duct about this time. While General Maitland was making 
preparations for quitting the island, believing that another 
personal interview between himself and Toussaint was de- 
sirable, he returned the visit to the Negro camp. With per- 
fect confidence in Toussaint's integrity, the General did not 
hesitate to travel to him with only two or three attendants, 
though his camp was at a considerable distance from his 
own armv, and he had to pass through a country full of 
Negroes, who had lately been his mortal enemies. The 
French commissioner Roume, thinking this afforded a most 
favorable opportunity for serving the cause of the French 
government, wrote to Toussaint, urging him to detain the 
British General as a prisoner. While General Maitland was 
on the road towards the camp, he received a letter, inform- 
ing him of Roume's plot, and warning him not to trust him- 
self in the power of the Negro chief; but consulting the good 
of the service in which he was engaged, and still relying on 
Toussaint's honor, he determined to proceed. When he ar- 
rived at headquarters, Toussaint was not to be seen and the 
General was kept in waiting a considerable time. At length 
Toussaint entered the room, with two letters in his hand. 
"There General," said he, "before we talk together, read 
these : one is a letter just received from Roume, the French 
commissioner; the other is the answer I am just going to 
dispatch. I would not come to you until I had Vvritten my 
answer to him, that you might be satisfied how safe you 
are v»-ith me, and how incapable I am of baseness." General 
Maitland upon reading the letters, found one of them to be 
from the French Commissioner Roume, being an artful at- 
tempt to persuade Toussaint to seize his guest as an act of 
duty to the Republic ; the other was a noble and indignant 
refusal. "What," said Toussaint in his letter to the per- 
fidious Frenchman, "have I not passed my vvord to the 
British General? How then can you suppose that I will 
cover myself with dishonor by breaking it? His reliance 
upon my good faith leads him to put himself in my power, 
and I should be forever infamous if I were to act as you 

58 



advise. I am faithfully devoted to the Republic, but I will 
not serve it at the expense of my conscience and my honor." 

This brave black soldier was made a prisoner by Napo- 
leon Bonaparte I, whom he defeated in all of his efforts to 
humiliate the black Republic which had been established at 
San Domingo mainly through his skill as a soldier and a 
statesman. He was made a prisoner by one of the basest 
and most infamous acts of treachery. The district in which 
Toussaint resided was purposely overcharged with French 
troops. The residents were discontented and made Tous- 
saint the medium of their complaints. General Brunnet, to 
wdiom he applied, answered that he was but imperfectly in- 
formed about the localities, and needed the assistance of the 
former ruler of St. Domingo to determine the situation of 
the troops. "See, these whites," exclaimed Toussaint, as 
he read General Brunnet's letter, "they know everything, 
and yet they are obliged to come to the old Negro chief for 
advice." He now fell into the trap artfully laid for him. 
He sent word to General Brunnet that he Avould come, at- 
tended by twenty men, and confer with him on the Georges 
estate, on the tenth of June. General Brunnet appeared at 
the appointed place and time, escorted also by twenty men. 
He asked Toussaint in, and they shut themselves up for 
business. Meanwhile the French soldiers mixed in with the 
escort of Toussaint, engaged each his man in light conversa- 
tion, and at an appointed signal, sprang each upon his Negro 
neisfhbor and disarmed him. At the same moment the 
French Admiral, Ferrari, appeared before Toussaint and 
said: "I have orders from General Le Clerc to arrest you. 
Your guards are captured, our troops are everywhere; you 
are a dead man if you resist. Deliver up your sword." 
Toussaint yielded his sword in silence. Resistance being 
useless, he quietly submitted to his own fate — but for his 
feeble wife and innocent children, he asked the privilege of 
their remaining home. This request, however just, was 
not granted, and before their friends and neighbors had any 
knowledge of it, the family, including the daughter of a de- 
ceased brother, were on board the "Hero," a man-of-war, 
which immediatelv set sail for France. 

Upon meeting the commander of the "Hero," Toussaint 
observed to him: "In overthrowing me, you have over- 

59 



thrown only the trunk of the tree of Negro Liberty in St. 
Domingo. It will arise again from the roots, because they 
are many and have struck deep." 

He was conveyed by the order of Bonaparte to the Castle 
of Joux, in the east of France, among the Jura mountains, 
plunged into a cold, damp, and gloomy subterraneous dun- 
geon, like one of the worst criminals. It has been con- 
fidently asserted by respectable authority, that the floor of 
this dungeon was covered with water. After an imprison- 
ment of ten months, during which nothing is known either 
of his thoughts or his sayings the Negro chieftain was found 
dead in his dungeon. This melancholy termination to his 
sufferings took place on the twenty-seventh of April, 1803, 
when he was about sixty years of age. His death, which 
was announced in the French papers, raised a cry against 
the government which had chosen this dastardly method of 
destroying one of the best and bravest men of the Negro 
race. 

Questions : 

About what time was Toussaint L'Ouverture born? 
Where was he born? 
Were his parents bond or free? 
What relation was his father to Gaou Guinou? 
Who was Gaou Guinou? 
What occupation did Toussaint first follow? 
How did he impress those who knew him? 
What is said about his character and general bearing? 
What about him attracted the attention of the agent of 
his master's estate, and what followed? 

At what time did he learn to read and write? 
Who is supposed to have aided him in his studies ? 
Who was Pierre Baptiste? 
What were his relations to Toussaint? 

What other language besides French did Toussaint 
know ? 

What science had he studied? 

Why was he promoted ? 

How did he employ his time in his new situation? 

What is said of his conduct in his new situation, and 

how was he regarded by his master and fellow servants? 

60 



Describe him. 

At what age was he married ? 

What is said of him as a husband and a father? 

At that period to whom did San Domingo belong? 

Where is St. Domingo? 

What is its length and breadth at its widest part? 

How much of it belonged to Spain? How much to 
France, and what portion? 

How was the portion belonging to France divided? 

By whom was it cultivated? 

Describe the western end of the island? 

Into how many classes were the inhabitants of the 
French provinces divided? 

What proportion were white, what free colored, and what 
slave? 

How many more slaves were there than white people? 

When the French Revolution broke out did the white 
planters embrace the opportunity to include the free colored 
people of the island in their demand for civil and equal 
rights ? 

What did these free colored people do to obtain their 
rights as citizens ? 

What part did Toussaint take in their deliberations and 
plans? 

Why did he refuse to co-operate with them? 

What did he afterwards conclude to do? Why? 

What did Toussaint do to save his master and his family? 

What led him to do this? 

When did he join the army, and what work did he as- 
sume? 

When was the decree of the French Convention promul- 
gated, and what was its import ? 

How did Toussaint interpret its meaning, and what 
course did he pursue? 

What had the Spanish General Hermona said about 
Toussaint upon seeing him receive the sacrament? 

What induced him to change his good opinion of Tous- 
saint? 

What was Toussaint's influence over the blacks that he 
commanded? 

6i 



What did he do to assist him in his military operations, 
and whose example did he imitate? 

What was the efifect of this upon the commissioners, and 
what significant expression was used in compliment to his 
genius ? 

Give substance of the treaty, a copy of which is said to 
be in the archives of the capital of Hayti, which was sub- 
mitted by the English government to Toussaint. 

Was this treaty ratified? 

Why not? 

Upon seeing the hopelessness of continuing its occu- 
pancy of the island by the English Army, what did General 
Maitland do? 

Was his proposition accepted? 

What followed? 

Relate the circumstances in their order. 

Give the substance of the anecdote related of Toussaint. 

By whose order was Toussaint made a prisoner? 

Why was he made a prisoner? 

What is said of the plot to entrap him? 

What was the plot? 

What did Toussaint say when he received General Brun- 
net's letter? 

Did he go to see General Brunnet? 

Who went with him ? 

What took place? 

When did he discover the plot? 

What did he do ? 

What request did he make of his captors ? 

Was it complied with? 

Give particulars. 

What did he say upon meeting the Erench Commander 
Ferrari ? 

By whose order was he conveyed to the Castle of Joux? 

In what part of France was it situated? 

Describe the dungeon in which he was incarcerated? 

What is said by respectable authority concerning this 
place? 

How long was Toussaint imprisoned in this place? 

When did he die? 

About how old was he when he died ? 

62 



What effect did the announcement of his death produce 
on the pubhc mind, an<l ^vhat was said of the method o 
destroying this brave Negro statesman, soldier, and martyr? 



Robert Brown Elliott. 

Robert Brown Elhott was born in Boston Massa- 
chusetts August II, 1842. His parents were West Indians 
.t hS setfled in this country. While a boy he attended 
school in his native city. Shortly after this he was sent to 
the Island of Jamaica, where he had superior advantages in 
the grammar schools. He was subsequently sent to 
England, and in 1853 he entered High Holborn Academy, 
London. Three years later he was admitted to the cele- 
brated Eton, one of the colleges of the University of London, 
from which he graduated with high rank in 1859. 

Adopting the law as a profession, he began to study 
under Sergeant Fitz Herbert, of the London bar. He soon 
returned to the United States and began the foundation of 
that illustrious career which made him the center of at- 
traction. His eminent teachers, travels "\ ^^^^^f d' ^"°^: 
land, South America and the West Indies, had broadened 
his views of life and ripened his understanding. Choosing 
South Carolina as his home, he commenced his life work 
there, as a printer on the Charleston Leader, afterward the 
Missionary Record, owned by the late Bishop R. H- Cain 
of the A M. E. Church. He soon became editor ot 
this publication and his powers were shown m the masterly 

articles he produced. 

When Congress begun the reconstruction of the boutl , 
Elliott's eloquence and wisdom were in demand m boutli 
Carolina. He was elected to the convention from the Edge- 
field District. For fourteen days after the Constitutional 
Convention had met, he said not a word. , , ,. ^r 

This was his first public service under the election of 
the people, but when he did speak, it was the making o 
him. After the adoption of the Constitution he -as elected 
from Barnwell" County to the Lower House of the btate 
L:gislature. Serving from July 6, 1868, to October 23 
1870, the Governor of the State appointed him Assistant 



63 



Adjutant-General of the State, March 25, 1869, which he 
held until elected a Representative from South Carolina to 
the Forty-second Congress of the United States, as a Re- 
publican, receiving 20,564 votes, against 13,997 votes for 
J. E. Bacon, a Democrat. He served until March 4, 187 1, 
when he resigned. 

He was elected to the Forty-third Congress, as a Re- 
publican, receiving 21,627 votes — 1,094 votes for W. W. 
McCan, Democrat — serving from December i, 1873 to 
May, 1874, when he resigned to accept the very lucrative 
position of Sherifif. In the second Congress of which he 
M^as a member, he delivered, in April, 1871, his famous 
speech on the "Bill to enforce the provisions of the Four- 
teenth Amendment to the Constitution," or better known 
as the Ku Klux Bill. May 30, 1872, he again wrestled with 
the giants and smote them "hip and thigli." Voorhees and 
Beck felt the sting of his words when he hurled the most 
fitting rebuke at them after they had made strictures on 
the financial condition of the State government of South 
Carolina. He returned home and was elected to the Legis- 
lature again. In 1871 Hon. John Sherman, Secretary of 
the United States Treasury, appointed him special agent of 
the Treasury, with headquarters at Charleston, South Caro- 
lina. He was a delegate to the National Republican Con- 
vention, at Chicago, in June, 1879, and seconded the nomi- 
nation of John Sherman for President of the United States. 

He was a very brilliant mason, and did much to re- 
establish its societies in South Carolina. He died in the 
city of New Orleans, August 9, 1884, ^^"^1 was buried with 
ancient rites and ceremonies, on Sunday, August 10, 1884. 
His celebrated speech on the Civil Rights Bill, delivered in 
the United States House of Representatives, January 6, 
1874, is pronomiced to be a masterly and scholarly forensic 
effort, and places him in the front ranks, among the ablest 
and most eloquent orators in America. 

Questions : 

Where and when was Robert Brown Elliott born? 
What was the nativity of his parents? 
Where did he attend private school? 
Where was he afterwards sent? 

64 



What for ? 

Where did he go after leaving school at Jamaica? 

What Academy did he enter in London? 

When did he enter this Academy? 

How soon thereafter was he admitted to another college 
in London ? 

What was it called? 

From which of these was he graduated? 

When was he graduated, and what was his standing? 

What profession did he adopt? 

Under whom did he begin his studies? 

Where was he at this time? 

Did he return to the United States? 

What did he do? 

How had his teachers and travels in various countries 
benefited him? 

Where did he settle, and what occupation did he follow? 

What trade did he have? 

What was the name of the paper upon which he was a 
compositor? 

When did he become an editor, and what is said of his 
ability as an editorial writer? 

Why was he in demand in South Carolina during the 
reconstruction period in that State? To what office was he 
elected by the Constitutional Convention? 

What was the effect of his first speech in that conven- 
tion upon his subsequent public career? 

After the adoption of the Constitution what other of- 
fice was he elected to? 

When did his term of office begin? 

When did it terminate? 

To what position did the Governor of the State appoint 
him? 

When was he so appointed? 

How long did he hold this position? 
When was he elected to the Forty-second Congress, and 
by what political party? 

How many votes did he receive? 

How many did his opponent receive? ; 

How long did he remain in Congress? 

When was he elected to the Forty-third Congress? 

65 



Give the number of votes he received and the number 
cast for his opponent? 

Why did he resign his seat in this Congress? 

How did he distinguish himself as a member of the 
Lower House of Congress, and what is said of his speech 
in April. 1871 ? 

What was the title of the bill on which he addressed 
the House? 

Did he deliver another speech? Wlien? 

What called forth this speech? 

What other celebrated speech did he deliver in Con- 
gress? 

When did he deliver it ? 

Upon leaving Congress where did he go? 

To what office was he elected in South Carolina? , 

By whom was he made special agent of the United States 
Treasury ? 

When? 

Where were his headquarters? 

When was he made a deleg'ate to the R.epublican Con- 
vention? 

Where was it held? 

Of what prominent secret organization was he a mem- 
ber? 

What is said of him in connection with it? 

When and where did he die? 

When was he buried? 

Tf he was born in 1842 and died in 1884. how old was he 
when he died ? 

Ida B. WeUs. 

Miss Ida B. Wells was born at Holly Springs, Arkansas, 
and reared and educated there. Her parents died while she 
was attending Rust University and she was compelled to 
leave school in order that she might support her five 
brothers and sisters, all being younger than herself. 

At the age of fourteen she was a public school teacher, 
and with this work and journalism she has been an inces- 
sant laborer. She has taught in the schools of Arkansas 
and Tennessee, and was for six years a teacher in the city 
of Memphis. While there she began to write for the press, 

66 



and her articles were so well written that demands for her 
services began to come in. Mr. T. Thomas Fortune, one 
of the brightest and brainiest colored journalists in America, 
says of her: "She has become famous as one of the few 
of our women who handle a goose quill with diamond point, 
as easily as any man in the newspaper work. If Ida were 
a man, she would be a humming Independent in politics. 
She has plenty of nerve and is as sharp as a steel trap." She 
has corresponded for a number of race papers, and her 
breezy and interesting style, as well as her intelligent treat- 
ment of the subjects she has discussed has won for her 
many admirers throughout the country. She is a pleasant- 
faced little lady and as modest and affable as she is brilliant 
and cultured. She has only lately returned from England 
where she did yeoman's service for her race on the lecture 
platform. Her history cannot be fully written until she has 
completed the great work which God has committed to her 
hands. She has demonstrated by her example what pluck 
and perseverance can accomplish and has overcome ob- 
stacles that seemed almost insurmountable. She has been 
driven from her adopted home because she dared to speak 
against the wrongs done to her race in the South, and be- 
cause she exposed the infamy and corruption which exists 
in the social and political atmosphere in the State of her 
adoption. She has found and made thousands of new friends 
all over the United States and Europe by the simple story 
which she eloquently told to sympathetic audiences in Great 
Britain of Southern outrages upon the defenceless Negroes 
in the land she loves so well, and to which she dare not re- 
turn because a price has been set upon her head and a 
vitiated public sentiment endorses the action of the lawless 
men, who by threats of personal violence, have forced her 
to seek an asylum among strangers, in a strange land. No 
colored w^oman living or dead has attracted so much public 
attention as Miss Wells on the lines which she is pursuing. 
She is the Avannt Courier in the crusade against mob 
violence in the Southern portion of the United States. 

Questions % 

Where did she attend school? 
Where was Miss Wells born? 

67 



Where did her parents die? 

What school did she attend? 

What did she do on the death of her parents? 

How many sisters and brothers has she ? 

When did she begin to teach school ? 

What other work did she do ? 

In what States has she taug-ht? 

How long did she teach in Memphis? 

When and where did she begin to write for the press ? 

What is said of her articles? 

Quote Mr. T. Thomas Fortune's opinion of her ability? 

Why did Miss Wells go to England? 

What was the object of her mission abroad? 

How did she perform it? 

What induced her to leave her Southern home and come 
North ? 

In what way has she shown herself worthy of confidence 
and encouragement ? 

Does perseverance and courage, when well directed, 
bring success? 

Under similar circumstances what would you have done? 



Phillis Wheatley. 

In 1 761, Mrs. John Wheatley purchased in the slave 
market, in Boston. Mass., from among a group of unfor- 
tunates there offered for sale, a Negro girl, brought over in 
a slave ship from Africa. To this girl she gave her own 
name and all the comforts of her own home, besides edu- 
cating her and training her. by gentle usage, to serve as 
attendant during old age. Phillis at this time was between 
seven and eight years old, slenderly formed, and suffering 
apparently from change of climate and the miseries of the 
voyage. Her interesting countenance and humble modesty 
induced Mrs. \\'heatley to overlook the disadvantages of a 
weak state of health, and she purchased her in preference 
to her healthier companions and took her to her home. 

The child was almost in a state of perfect nakedness, 
her only covering being a strip of dirt}- carpet. These things 
were soon remedied by the attention of Mrs. Wheatley, 

68 



into whose hands the young African had been thrown, and 
in a short time the effects of comfortable clothing and food 
were visible in her returning health. 

The marks of extraordinary intellig^ence which the 
young girl showed induced her mistress's daughter to 
teach her to read, and such was the rapidity with which this 
was affected, that in sixteen months from the time of her 
arrival in the family, the African child had so mastered the 
English language — to which she was an utter stranger be- 
fore — as to read with ease the most difficult parts of Scrip- 
ture. 

This uncommon docility altered the intention of the 
family regarding Phillis, and in future she was kept con- 
stantly about the person of Mrs. Wheatley, whose affections 
she entirely won by her amiable disposition and propriety of 
demeanor. All her knowledge was attained without any in- 
struction except what was given her in the family; and the 
art of writing she acquired entirely from her own exertion 
and industry. In the short period of four years from the 
time of her being stolen from Africa, and when only twelve 
years of age, she w^as capable of writing letters to her 
friends on various subjects. In 1765 she wrote to Samson 
Occum, the Indian Minister, while he was in London. As 
she grew to w^omanhood her progress and attainments kept 
pace with the promise of her earlier years. She attracted 
the notice of literary characters of the place, who supplied 
her with books and encouraged the ripening of her intel- 
lectual powers. Mrs. Wheatley treated her like a child of 
the family — admitted her to her own table and introduced 
her as an equal, into the best society of Boston. Notwith- 
standing these honors she never departed from the humble 
and unassuming deportment which distinguished her when 
she stood, a little trembling alien, to be sold like a beast 
of the field in the slave market. 

Such was the modest and amiable disposition of Phillis 
Wheatley. Her literary talents and acquirements accorded 
with the intrinsic worth of her character. She studied the 
Latin tongue, and from a translation of one of Ovids' tales 
appears to have made no inconsiderable progress in it. 

In her leisure moments she often indulged herself in 
writing poetry. At the early age of fourteen she appears 

69 



first to have attempted literary composition. Between this 
period and the age of nineteen the whole of her poems which 
were given to the wrold seem to have been written. They 
were piibHshed in London in 1773 i" ^ small octavo of about 
120 pages, containing 39 poems, which she had dedicated 
to the Countess of Huntington. This work went through 
several editions in England and the United States. A stray 
volume brought, in 1866, $15.00, and later, in Boston, one 
was offered for $12.00; they were of the London edition. She 
made a voyage to England with a son of Mrs. Wheatley later 
for the benefit of her health, where she was received and 
admitted to the first circles of English society. 

Before leaving America she wrote a beautiful poem, ad- 
dressed to Mrs. Wheatley, commencing : 

"Adieu, New England's smiling meads, 
Adieu the flowery plain ; 
I leave thine opening charms, O Spring, 
And tempt the roaring main. 

"In vain for me the flowerets rise 
And boast their gaudy pride. 
While here beneath the Northern skies 
I mourn for health denied. 

"Celestial maid of rosv hue, 

let me feel thy reign ; 

1 languish till thy face I view, 
Thy vanished joys regain. 

"Susanah mourns, nor can I bear 
To see the crystal shower. 
Or mark the tender falling tear 
At sad departure's hour. 

"Not unregarding can I see 
Her soul with grief opprest. 
But let no sigh, no groans for me 
Steal from her pensive breast. 

"In vain the feathered warblers sing, 
In vain the garden blooms. 
And on the bosom of the spring 
Breathes out her soft perfume. 

70 



"While for Britannia's distant shore, 
We sweep the Hqtiid plain. 
And with astonished eyes explore 
The whole extended main. 

"Lo, health appears, celestial dame, 
Complacent and serene, 
With Hebe's mantle o'er her frame 
\Y\th soul-delighting- mien. 

"For thee, Britannia, I resign 
New England's smiling fields. 
To view again her charms divine, 
What joy the prospect yields." 

Within a short time after her arrival from England, her 
presence being necessary to the comfort and happiness of 
her mistress, mother and friend, v/hose husband and daugh- 
ters soon sunk into the grave, she discharged the melan- 
choly duty of closing the eyes of this humane woman and 
found herself alone in the world. 

Shortly after the death of her friends she received an 
offer of marriage from a respectable colored man named 
Peters. In her desolate condition, it would have been hard 
to have blamed her for accepting any offer of protection of 
an honorable kind. Peters not only bore a good character 
but was in every way a remarkable specimen of his race, be- 
ing a fluent writer, a ready speaker, and altogether an in- 
telligent and well-educated man. He was a grocer by trade, 
but having attained considerable learning, also officiated as 
a lawyer, under the title of Doctor Peters, pleading the 
cause of his brethren, the Africans, before the tribunals of 
the State. Phillis was at the time of her marriage to Peters 
about twenty-three years of age. The reputation he enjoyed 
with his industry procured him a fortune, though it appears 
he was subsequently unsuccessful in business. The connec- 
tion did not prove a happy one, and Phillis being possessed 
of a susceptible mind and delicate constitution fell into de- 
cline and died in 1780, in the tv/enty-sixth year of her age. 
Much lamented by those who knew her worth, thus perished 
a woman who by a fortunate accident vras rescued from the 
degraded condition to which those of her race who were 

71 



brought to the slave market were too often condemned, as 
if to show to the world what care and education could effect 
in elevating the character of the benighted African. Such 
an example ought to impress us with the conviction that 
out of the countless millions to whom no similar oppor- 
tunities have ever been presented, many might be found 
fitted by the endowments of nature, and wanting only the 
blessings of education, to be made ornaments like Phillis 
Wheatley not only to our own race, but to humanity. 

Miss Wheatley's poetry was mostly of an obituary char- 
acter. One poem, entitled the "Providence of God," which 
shows remarkable literary merit, was written in her 
eighteenth year. These lines are equal to many that ap- 
pear in standard collections of English poetry; they are if 
anything superior in harmon}^, and are not inferior in depth 
of thought. 

Among the best of her compositions are a poem "On the 
Death of a Beautiful Girl," "An Epitaph on the Death of a 
Minister of the Gospel," "Farewell to America," "An ad- 
dress to the Earl of Dartmouth," "An Address and Prayer 
to the Deity," and some highly creditable verses on "Virtue, 
Humanity, Freedom and the Imagination." She wrote an 
"Ode to George Washington," President of the United 
States, which called forth the following letter from the 
Father of his Country: 

(President Washington's letter to Phillis Wheatley.) 

"Cambridge, Feb. 28th, 1776. 

"Miss Phillis: — Your favor of the 26th October did not 
reach my hands until the middle of December. Time enough 
you will say, to have given an answer ere this. Granted. 
But a variety of important occurrences, continually inter- 
posing to distract the mind and withdraw the attention, I 
hope will apologize for the seeming, but not real neglect. 
I thank you most sincerely for your polite notice of me in 
the elegant lines you inclosed, and however undeserving I 
may be of such encomium and panegyric, the style 
and manner exhibit a striking proof of your poetical talents, 
in honor of which, and as a tribute justly due to you, I 
would have published the poem had I not been apprehensive 
that, while I only meant to give the world this new instance 

72 



of your genius, T might have incurred the imputation of 
vanity. This, and nothing else, determined me not to give 
it place in the public prints. 

"If you ever should come to Cambridge, or near head- 
quarters, I shall be happy to see a person so favored by the 
muses, and to whom nature has been so liberal and benefi- 
cent in her dispensation. 

"I am, with the greatest respect, your obedient, humble 
servant, 

"George Washington." 

Questions : 

Where was Phillis Wheatley born? 

About what was her age when she was brought to 
America? 

What was she brought to America for? 

In wdiat kind of a ship was she brought here ? 

\\niere was she brought from? 

What happened when she was taken to the slave market ? 

Who was the lady who purchased her, and what is said 
of her treatment of the little slave girl? 

What was the effect of this treatment? 

What name was given to the girl? 

What is said of the girl's appearance and physical con- 
dition on her arrival in America, and how was she attired? 

Did she improve in health and appearance? What 
caused it? 

What induced the daughter of her mistress to teach her 
how to read? Did she learn it rapidly? 

How long was it before she could read English with 
ease? 

What effect had this upon the intentions of the family 
regarding her, and how was she afterward employed? 

How was her knowledge obtained, and how did she ac- 
quire the art of writing? 

How old was she when she wrote her first letter? 

Where was it sent, and to whom was it written? 

Was she encouraged by literary people in Boston? How? 

How did Mrs. Wheatley treat her? 

Did the kind of treatment she received change her dis- 
position? 

71 



What other language besides EngUsh did she study? 

What Latin work did she translate into English? 

At about what age did she write her first composition? 

How old was she when the most of her poetical work 
was completed ? 

When and where were they published? 

How large a book did they make? 

What is a small octavo? 

How many poems did her book contain? 

To whom did she dedicate this little volume? 

How much money did a stray volume of this little book 
sell for in 1866? 

Why did she make a voyage to England? 

When did she write her farewell to America, and to 
whom was it inscribed? 

Can you repeat the lines? 

How was she received in England by the nobility? 

Did she remain long abroad? Why not? 

What melancholy duty did she perform to the humane 
woman who educated her? 

After the death of her friends what did she then do? 

What is said of Mr. Peters? 

What trade did he have? 

Was he a man of much learning? 

What profession did he have? Did he practice it? 
Where? 

What was he called ? 

Hovv^ old was Miss Wheatley when she married? 

Did the connection prove to be a happy one? 

What happened to her after this marriage? 

When did she die, and how old was she at her death? 

What does her life teach? 

What was the efifect of her work among those with whom 
she mingled? 

Name some of her best poems? 

What is said of them as literary productions, and how 
do they compare with standard collections of English 
poetry? 

Did she write an ode to George Washington, President 
of the United States? 

What compliment did he pay to her genius in return? 

74 



Can you repeat the language used by hini in the letter 
to Miss Wheatley? 



R. Edgar Ford. 

The subject of this sketch was born in the District of 
Cohinibia. August 13, 1869, of poor parentage. His father 
and mother were good Christian people, and were unfor- 
tunately blessed with a large family. Out of four boys, the 
subject of our sketch w^as the only survivor, and when he 
was two and a half years old his father died of that fatal 
disease which w^as then raging in the District of Columbia, 
the smallpox, leaving his son a victim to it, and his wife 
to support several other children. 

Young Ford's education in early life was neglected, and 
he spent but one year in the primary schools of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia. Before entering school, and when about 
seven years of age, he wrote for the benefit of some of his 
playmates, for wdiom he was to lead a sham battle, the fol- 
lowing lines : 

"The fifers and drummers are going to play. 
And we'll all turn out for the day ; 
And we'll all turn out to have a little fun, 
For the fifers and drummers are going to play." 

At fifteen he wrote some crude verses of a sentimental 
order, and at eighteen began to publish his verses through 
the columns of the local weekly papers of the Dis- 
trict, which were copied by other papers. He subsequently 
secured a situation as a hostler in Mount Pleasant, a sub- 
urb of Washington, where he had access to all the books in 
his employer's library, and made good use of them. Several 
of his friends taking notice of his poetic ability advised him 
to attend school, and in the fall of 1889, he applied for ad- 
mission to Howard University and w^as admitted. At the 
end of the term he led his class, and remained in that in- 
stitution four vears. He has written about a thousand 
poetical compositions of more or less merit, about one hun- 
dred of wdiich have been published. His "Mid-Summer 
Day's Dream." extracts from wdiich are herewith published, 
is indeed a very creditable production, and is a fair speci- 

75 



men of his style as a writer of poetry. He also has written 
several allegorical poems, the longest of which would make 
a pamphlet of thirty pages. An epic poem of society life in 
Washington, in the style of Lucile, which he has completed, 
would make a book of 300 pages ; and one in the metre of 
Byron's Don Juan, on "Country and City Life," would make 
a book of about 100 pages. Perhaps there are few instances 
on record of greater progress in the pursuit of knowledge 
or a more ardent engagement in the occupations of the 
scholar than that furnished by young Ford. 

The extract which we here quote from his "Mid- 
Summer Day's Dream" is an ambitious effort, and we make 
no apology for reproducing it. It ought to be, and we be- 
lieve it will be, an inspiration to some boy or girl of the 
race to aspire to even greater things in the domain of in- 
tellect, though we frankly confess that we fail to see how 
the subject which he has treated so admirably and skilfully 
can be improved upon : 

(By permission of author.) 

Canto II. 

"And I may never tell just how she came; 

All that i know, I first beheld her there, 
And all surprised, I gazed upon the dame. 

Who stood as if she wavered in the air. 

Her face, what beauty is there to compare? 
Not Cleopatra's charms, which Antony won ; 

Nor Helen's, which brought on the Trojan War; 
Nor any yet I've met beneath the sun 
Could well compare with such as I now gaze upon. 

"A graceful form clad in a robe of snow; 

A face whose brow was lit with holy light ; 
Her eyes, if thou these orbs wouldst wish to know, 

Go seek the starry sky of Autumn night; 

Her hair, that fell upon her shoulders white, 
Might, too, in richness mark the sunset sky; 

Thou oft has seen the Autumn twilight bright. 
When sinks the sun almost with lingering sigh. 
Loathing, it seemed, to bid departing day good-bye, 

76 



"Those orbs, in which the hght of beauty shone, 

Were fixed upon me ; 1 in mute surprise 
Lay there. She spoke, it seemed an angel's tone, 

That came in gentle murmur from the skies, 

When she had said, 'Rise, weary mortal, rise! 
And place thyself alone beneath my care. 

Long have I heard thy discontented sighs ; 
And know the sorrows thou dost daily bear; 
But come thou now with me to regions light and fair.' 

"And rising, I addressed her thus : 'Fair maid, 

I wandered to this lovely place, serene. 
So I might rest beneath the bowers and shade ^ '■ 

Of these tall oaks — upon this moss so green, 

I did not think that there would come between 
Me and this happiness a woman's face ; 

At least, I deemed that in this lovely scene 
I should find nothing of the human race; 
But comest thou to me in all thy magic grace.' 

" 'And who art thou, that thou shouldst haunt my rest? 

What power keen to know my suffering? 
And why art thou concerned if I'm deprest? 

Why should my moans thee to this lone place bring? 

I do not know who thou mightst be, fair being. 
But this, at once I fain would have thee know: 

The pain I bear comes not from love's cruel sting; 
Think not the pain comes from a lover's woe. 
Why and where, O maiden fair, wouldst thou have me go?' 

"And thus replied the maiden fair to me : 

'My name, O mortal ! let that be unsaid ; 
Enough to know I come in quest of thee ; 

To brighter scenes than this thou must be led ; 

That 'twas of me thou to this lone place strayed. 
Thou'rt discontented, and a brighter land 

Awaits thee ; there for thee a crown is made 
Of shining gold; thus do as I command, 
For we must go, O youth, so give to me thy hand.' 

"How^ could I such strong pleading now withstand, 
When fixed upon me, too, those lovely eyes? 

17 



I yielded ; I gave the maid my hand, 
And when she took it feh emotion rise, 
(Read not this, reader, in profound surprise;) 

And how we left the place I ne'er shall know; 
I but remember 'twas beneath bright skies 

Our path was laid — we flying as we go, 

And gazing down upon the world below. 

"Beneath us was a vale, stretching away 

Far out of sight, an undulating plain, 
Perhaps, a lake transparent quiet lay. 

Fed by a mountain streamlet and the rain. 

'My guide,' I said, 'tell my bewildered brain 
What thou thyself wouldst call this lovely vale?' 

'This' she replied in a soft, gentle strain, 
'Is where so many start and seem to fail. 
And hence, the "Starting Point," which well can tell its tale. 

" 'Just yonder, if thou gazest with sturdy eye, 

A winding river, flowing to the west 
In mighty tumult, thou shall soon espy; 

This well known river proves them such a test 

Until at last they stop them here for rest, 
Which proves forever ; but it can be crost. 

Although 'tis dangerous to cross at best. 
For "He who hesitates," you know, "is lost :" 
Yet men have crossed the river deep whate'er the cost.' 

"Then, we moved on until again we come 

Where grew the land more hilly and more steep ; 
Where rivers rushing from a mountain home, 

Down mighty valleys in loud thunder sweep. 

O'er falls of vast majestic height do leap. 
And rumbling in chasms far below 

Until at last they quiet down to sleep, 
Do onward to a distant ocean flow. 

'What land, fair guide? fain would I wish to know.' 

"'Mortal, behold the "Land of Mystery!" 
'Tis filled with wonders, that the simple eyes 

Jn gazing nuist a moment puzzled be; 
For it is here so many doubts arise; 
Whether still pursue the longed-for prize, 

78 



Or turn ns back into our native sphere, 

And dwell in quietness beneath calm skies 
That seem unto our simple minds so clear. 
Or dare to scale these mighty mounts of mystery here.' 

"And now again we traveled on until 

Far steeper grew the land ; majestic peaks 
Rose in the air; songs from a mountain rill 

Sound sweet ; birds, with mighty beaks 

And hideous talons, flew here and there with shrieks ; 
And, perched upon a rock, an eagle gray, 

With piercing eyes some crouching creature seeks ; 
Swoops down the chasm, darts upon its prey, 
And in his talons strong flies wnth him far away. 

"Deep, awful chasms widely yawned beneath, 

And fire boiled from out a dark abyss. 
On, on Vve went, I held with fright my breath. 

Although with ease we crossed the precipice. 

I ne'er beheld a sight compared with this ! 
Still tighter was my hand pressed by my guide : 

'Have courage lest a moment's step thou miss 
And headlong plunge into yon chasm wide ; 
Have courage, and step firmly only at my side.' 

"Her gentle voice encouraged me, and on 

We went, not flying, but scarce touching ground ; 
There was a magic sweetness in her tone 

That in my soul's dark cell bid to respond 

The thrills of faith. Quick change the scenes and crown'd 
With what appeared to be a crystal brow. 

Far in the distance rose a mount profound. 
'Tis in a lovely vale we travel now 
Where trees of shade luxuriant spread their boughs. 

"Here castles of the finest marble white, 

Whose domes high rose in the ethereal skies, 
By shady trees surrounded come to sight, 

And dazzled with their brilliancy my eyes. 

And 'twas from these I heard fond" music rise ; 
Such as recall to lovers' meetings sweet, 

At first the mingled sounds of moans and sighs, 

79 



As that which would some lover cold entreat, 
WhOj unforgiving, gazed at woman at his feet. 

"And then a song in pleading accents came 

Upon the breeze to my attentive ear ; 
Such as could make within the heart love's flame, 

And make the truant lover hasten near ; 

It rose in tremors, and 'twas sweet to hear. 
And even my guide stopp'd as aloft it rose 

Upon the breeze, sounding soft and clear. 

'Hark: hear the song; 'tis sung by one of those 
Who daily by their snares have caused a lover's woes :' " 

The Song. 

*'Come to our lighted halls, maidens are dancing; 

Joy holds supreme her sway, Love at her side 
Bright eyes, filled full of soft affection, glancing, 
Ask that our simple wish be not denied. 
Come, noble youth, oh, come! 
And make this place thy home. 
Come join our joyful band, with us abide! 

"Wines on the table are spread out before thee ; 

Fruits that luxuriant grow, mellow and sweet; 
Beauty to bathe thy brow, maids to adore thee, 
Living upon thy smiles, slaves at thy feet ! 
Long has thy journey been, 
Here, in this place serene, 
Dwell thou, where bosoms for thee daily beat." 

" 'Thou seemest tired,' said my lovely guide, 

'This is Elysium, but here rest thee not ; 
Many a lingering mortal here has died. 

And being lost, been by the world forgot. 

'Tis here that oft has Love his arrows shot; 
And shouldst thou linger he would mark thee too; 

So let us haste from this enchanting spot. 
To yonder high mount rising to our view. 
There ends the path that we to-day pursue.' 

■"With this, we left the place where all seemed blest; 
The distant mount grew plainer to my view, 

80 



'Twas right before me rising in the west, 
And at its base pine trees of sombre hue, 
Cut here and there by streams luxuriant, grew. 

And up its side a road was seen to gHde, 

O'er jagged rocks. I said one road, 'twas two, 

For one was narrow, and the other wide. 

The former up, the latter around the high mount's side. 

" 'Those roads,' to my request, replied my guide, 

'Are to the student Failure or Success ; 
Yon road that leads around the mountain's side 

Can bring him naught save keenest of distress. 

The narrow leads him up to happiness, 
For it goes up, and all doth elevate. 

To gain its height, he can all things possess, 
Laugh in the very face of cruel fate, 
And in spite of circumstances become great.' 

"And it is soon we reach the mountain's base ; 

It seemed we came into a pleasant grove ; 
Of all I yet had seen this lovely place 

Was most sublime. Far down the mount above 

Flow pleasant streams ; notes of the cooing dove 
Were wafted to me on the pleasant breeze ; — 

The soft reminder of a banished love — 
But why recall? Let by-gone ecstasies 
Bring to this heart no more dark passion's miseries. 

"Here crystal springs with cups of polished gold 

Were waiting for the weary one athirst ; 
And here and there names on a fir tree told 

Who passed the spot, and who it was that first 

Heard from the fairv dell sweet music burst 
From the soft lute, and from the love-strung lyre; 

Who for a moment in this sweet spot durst 
To rest, and listen to the chords of fire. 
Instead of going on, and seeking steps far higher. 

"The path we followed soon came to a fork. 
At which a sign-post indicating rest. 

'The names therein, as I have said, will mark 
Thy destiny,' now spoke my guide ; 'those, 
That choose the path which 'round the mountain goes, 

8i 



Are generally niin'i;)cre(l with the common horde, 

For which the v/orkl no admiration shows : 
Upon him that goes up will e'er be poured 
High praise; the richest blessings that the world affords.' 

"The one that led around the mountain side 

Was called 'Contentment' or 'Equality,' 
But quickly on the other side I descried 

The word 'Excelsior' or 'Higher Be!' 

And with my guide I chose tliis road for me; 
And so we climbed the mountain, perilous, steep; 

The rocks were jagged and. too. slippery; 
Along the path from rock to rock we leap. 
But upward still do we our perilous journey keep. 

"Now soon the fairv grove is left behind ; 

And far beneath us sounds the silver strain, 
And once more we are lost to human kind, 

Into the mighty solitude again. 

Wild thoughts, all cloakless rushed into my brain, 
And even my fair guide silent became ; 

There was a stillness I may ne'er explain. 
What w-as it all ? — was it the mount of fame 
Where the ambitious climb to write in gold their name? 

"The summit; lo, a granite castle rose! 

And from its dome doth shine a luminous light, 
For miles around a strong reflection throws ; 

The sun, till then unseen, was setting; Night, 

Robed in her mantle dark, put Day to flight; 
But, as around the brilliant light did shine, 

Did everything beneath its ray seem bright. 
Now spoke my guide: 'This castle tall is mine; 
Mortal, behold fair Learning's lofty shrine!' 

"Deep buried in huge volumes, quiet sate 

Around the castle, sages of renown. 
I knew- them well ; knew how against stern fate 

These men had reached and grasped Fame's shining crown, 

And made the world declare it as their own. 
Here poets sate to weave each magic dream ; 

And great orators, in thundering tone, 

82 



Were practicing in different spots a theme; 
These, of earth's leaders, held their place supreme, 

" 'Rest thee awhile.' my fair guide said, 'and wait 

Till thou art rested ere I show thee more; 
Enough to see thou'rt in a purer state, 

Than thou hast ever l)een in life before; 

But know thou this : life's journey is not o'er, 
But really thy career has just begun, 

There is another life beyond this shore, 
A rolling ocean thou must sail upon, 
But rest thee here awhile ere sets yon golden sun.' 

"With this she left me ; and at her approach 

Those learned men each bowled him on the knee; 

On some she smiled, with others she talked much, 
Then to them all I saw her point out me. 
They sage like turned my weary form to see, 

Then stroked their beards and made her some reply; 
'Twas then that I felt strong anxiety — 
'What if these men thought I had aimed too high ?' 

Quick beat my pulse when one came slowdy nigh. 

"He showed the signs of winter, by the frost 

Upon his head and face ; but his clear tone 
Told w^ell that strong ambition w^as not lost ; 

That still he sought for glory to be won. 

'Why hither come, why hither come, my son. 
Dost thou seek wisdom of the great and grave? 

How^ couldst thou such temptation yonder shun. 
Which counts a student daily as its slave? 
Worthy thou art of praise who thus hast been so brave.' 

"And thus he spoke ; I 'rose to take his hand ; 

I could not speak, speech had flown from my tongue. 
And he. the sage, too, seemed to understand. 

He grasped my hand and muttered, 'Too, so young. 

Is this the youth whose harp I've daily strung? 
Who, discontented, leaves his youthful throng 

And sings the songs the world has not heard sung?' 
He turned to me, 'Son, it \\n\\ not be long 
Ere thou upon that sea to men shall sing thy song.' 

83 



"I looked, and lo! before me far away, 

I saw a rolling ocean stretching wide. 
And white-sailed vessels on its bosom lay, 

Drifting with the ever-restless tide. 

'This,' said the old man, standing at my side, 
'Is called the "Sea of Life," there one must meet 

All that's meant for him ; oft the sun will hide 
His face, and strong and high those waves will beat, 
But stand its storms, thou'lt enter .harbors sweet.' 

"And as he spoke, my lovely guide returned. 

He bowed, then ceased talking, left us there. 
'My youth,' she said, 'I know thy heart hath yearned 

The crown of fame upon thy brow to wear. 

It I have promised thee, but know this; dear 
Must be the price that buys this shining crown : 

Thou must upon yon ocean without fear 
For weary months thy vessel steer alone; 
When thou hast achieved, the crown shall be thine own. 

" 'So weary youth, I now must bid farewell, 
Thy vessel there awaits thee on the shore; 

But wait, my name is Learning, and I dwell 
Top-most in Heaven ; books of priceless lore, 
I give earth's children who would seek me more. 

But now we part, sigh not to say "good-bye," 
When on the ocean storm and wind do roar. 

Steer well thy bark, altho' the wind beats high, 

So now farewell !' I looked, and lo ! she was no longer nigh ! 

"All, all had vanished, and 'twas up I sprang. 

To find myself there in the deep ravine, 
And nothing but the song the streamlet sang 

Was heard. No fairy form by me was seen; 

No granite castle, in the air serene, 
Sent miles around into the world its beam; 

I saw alone the mossy bed so green ; 
And heard alone the song sung by the stream ; 
The sun had set, and now I saw 'twas but an idle dream !" 

Questions : 

Where was R. Edgar Ford born? 

What can you say of his father and mother? 

84 



How many brothers did he have? 
What is said of them? 

When did his father die; of what fatal disease? 
What is said of young Ford's education in early life? 
How long did he attend primary schools? 
At seven years of age what did he do for the benefit of 
his playmates? 

When did he begin to publish his verses, and through 

what mediums? 

Were they copied? 

What occupation did he engage in at Mount Pleasant, 
and where is Mount Pleasant? 

What opportunities for self-improvement did he have in 
this position? 

Did he take advantage of them? 

On noticing his poetic ability what did some of his friends 
advise him to do? 

Did he do it? 

When did he apply for admission to Howard University? 

Was he admitted? 

Did he hold his class? 

How long did he remain there? 

About how many poetical compositions has he written? 

How many has he published? 

What do you think of his style as a writer of poetry? 

What is said of his ''Mid-Summer Day's Dream?" 

What other poems has he written? 

Name them. 

How old is Mr. Ford? 

What does his example teach? 



Henry Ossawa Tanner, 

Was born June 21, 1859, at Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. 
His school advantages have been good, and he is fairly fit- 
ted for life's work. He studied art at the Pennsylvania 
Academy of Fine Arts, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where 
he has lived for many years. His pictures take high rank. 
He has supplied illustrations to Harper Brothers, for the 
"Harper's Young People," and for Judge Tourgee's paper, 
"Our Continent." 

85 



He is an artist of acknowledged ability, and by pluck 
and perseverance he has won a place among the first artists 
of America. He has exhibited pictures at several galleries; 
"The Lion's at Home," in 1885, and "Back From the 
Beach." in 1886, at the National Academy of Design, and at 
the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. The first named 
picture was sold at the National Academy of Design, New 
York City. He also exhibited "Dusty Road," at the Lydia 
Art Gallery at Chicago, where it was sold. 

At the International Exposition in New Orleans he ex- 
hibited the "Elk Attacked by Wolves," which was greatly 
admired by those who saw it. And in Washington and 
Eouisville he exhibited "Point Judith," a picture which com- 
manded general admiration for its finish, coloring and 
naturalness. 

He is constantly engaged in furnishing work upon special 
orders, and has a fine galler}' in Paris, France. He is a son 
of Bishop E. T. Tanner, and has made his way into the 
world in his chosen profession upon his merit and native 
and acquired ability. He is a splendid example of young 
Negro manhood and his success as an artist is only another 
proof of what can be accomplished by application and study, 
and a determination to succeed. He is now in Europe 
studying the old masters, and will some day be recognized 
as one of the great painters of America. 

Questions : 

Where and when was Henry Ossawa Tanner born? 
\Miere did he study art ? 

What were his opportunities for acquiring an education? 
For what papers did he furnish illustrations? 
In your opinion why were these illustrations accepted? 
Where did he exhibit some of his pictures — and when? 
Gi\'e the names of some of them? 
How many of his pictures were sold? 
What is said of them as works of art? 
How is his time employed, where is he at present, and 
what is he doing? 

What is meant by old masters? 

What lesson have you learned from reading this sketch? 

86 



What opinion have yon formed of the subject, and how 
ought his example to impress you? 



Rt. Rev, Benjamin Tucker Tanner. 

(From "Men of Mark," by Permission.) 

Without doubt one of the brightest, grandest, noblest 
men in the ranks of Negro Methodism is Bishop B. T. Tan- 
ner, the veteran journalist of the colored race. His fame has 
extended from the Lakes to the Gulf, and from the Atlantic 
to the Pacific. 

He was born of Hugh and Isabella Tanner, in Pittsburg, 
and was not a slave. He spent five years in study at Avery 
College, Allegheny City, Pennsylvania, where he paid his ex- 
penses by working at the barber's chair. At this time of 
life his father vvas dead, and his struggles were the more 
severe because his widowed mother needed his care. His 
whole nature was independent, for he might have sweetened 
his life some and smoothed many a road over which he 
passed, but he preferred to work and win. 

Mr. Avery, in whose honor Avery College was named, 
and who was its founder, offered to pay his expenses 
through college, but the self-reliant young man refused it. 

After spending one year of the five at Avery College, in 
the College Department, he took a three-years' course in the 
Western Theological Seminary. His birthday being De- 
cember 25, 1835, he was 25 years old when he received his 
first appointment from Bishop D. A. Payne, to the Sacra- 
mento station, in the California Conference. This appoint- 
ment was not filled, on account of the distance, and the 
money to get there, so he was the "supply" of the Presl)y- 
terian Church of Washington, District of Columbia, for 
eiehteen months: this was admissable on account of the 
liberality of the views of each denommation, and it was a 
magnificent compliment to his head and heart that they m- 
vited him. 

While here he organized the Sabbath School for Freed- 
men in the Navy Yard, by permission of Admiral Dahlgren. 
In April, 1862, he united with the Baltimore Annual Con- 
ference and was appointed to the Alexander Mission, E. 

87 



Street, Washington, D. C, this being the first mission pos- 
sible, during the war it had to be guarded by soldiers, 
through the kindness of Provost Marshal-General Gregory. 
The year 1863 found him pastor of the Georgetown, District 
of Columbia, Church; 1866 was the date of his pastorate in 
"Big Baltimore" charge, and after serving to the satisfac- 
tion of all concerned he resigned the reappointment of the 
charge to become the principal of the Annual Conference 
School, at Frederickstown, Maryland. The Freedmen's So- 
ciety also secured his services in organizing a com- 
mon school. His fame and talents begot for him 
a great name. His addresses showed thought, learn- 
ing and rare gifts; so that when the General Con- 
ference met in the capital of the Nation in 1868, he was 
not only elected Chief Secretary, but editor of the church 
organ, the "Christian Recorder," by acclamation, and this 
honored position was thrust upon him in succession until 
he had served sixteen years. In 1870, while the lamented 
Dr. Henry Highland Garnet was President of Avery Col- 
lege, he was given the degree of A. M., a title he richly 
earned by diligent literary labors. Wilberforce honored him 
with the degree of D. D., sometime in the seventies. In 1881 
he visited England and Continental Europe, attending the 
Ecumenical Conference. His spare time has been spent in 
editing books of use to his denomination. He is the author 
of an "Apology for African Methodism," "The Negro's 
Origin." and "Is He Cursed of God," "An Outline of Our 
History and Government," "The Negro, African and 
American." In the General Conference of 1884 he was voted 
a promotion to the editorship of the A. M. E. Review. 
This is one of the most scholarly productions of the age, 
and its list of writers include all classes of thinkers and 
writers of all denominations, male and female. 

His views are in the line of Wesley's, Richard Allen, 
and the leading lights of their faith. The affability of 
the doctor, added to his general worth makes him respected 
everywhere. 

While travelling in the old world, he was sailing on Lake 
Geneva, Switzerland, when he was called upon to preside 
at the dinner, and was also made chairman of the committee 
to draft resolutions complimentary to Monsieur Lemoiger, 

88 



who had safely piloted the party over the Alps at Chamonix. 
Dr. Arnett has said of Dr. Tanner : 

"He has risen from a successful barber to be the king 
of Negro editors. His pen is sharper than his razor, and his 
editorial chair is finer than his barber chair. The church 
and race will long remember Dr. B. T. Tanner, for the part 
he has played in the reconstruction of the South, and for 
his words of encouragement." 

Below will be found several selections from the pen of 
the eminent churchman and scholar : 

"THE RELIGION OF THE NEGRO. 

"Gentlemen and brethren, Christianity does not destroy 
the irrepressible nature of the Negro. We beseech you to 
acknowledge him as a 'man and a brother.' Take him by the 
hand. The black will not rub off. Incorporate him into 
your organization. You need the warm fervor of his heart. 
If Christianity is to be preserved among the cold-blooded 
Saxons, with all of its original warmth and faith and hope and 
imagination, the tropical Negro element must be brought 
in. Discard it, and a purely intellectual belief will follow. 
Unitarianism, if not downright paganism, will be instituted. 
Plato will discard Jesus. Athens will triumph over Jeru- 
salem. The head will carry the heart into captivity. With 
the Negro, however, incorporated into your organization, 
the ancient faith will resume its sway. 

"Benj. Tucker Tanner." 

THE AMERICAN TRADES-UNIONS. 

"How shall we speak of these Trades-Unions legislating 
in regard to color? Who are these who look down upon 
the lowly Negro with contempt? They are white men, who 
with the doors of every college in the land standing open 
to them, with gratuitous scholarships on every hand, yet, 
had they not spirit enough to enter, and become more than 
hewers of wood ? They are white men, surrounded by other 
white men by the scores, who were ready to take them by 
the hand and lift them up to the higher walks of life, yet 
such was their lack of ambition, that they aspired not to 
be above the drawers of water. They are white men, with 

89 



every office in the government open to them; aye inviting 
them to enter and enjoy, yet were they destitute of a shadow 
of honorable ambition, and were content to carry the load 
of life. These are the men who say the Negro shall not 
work by their side — the Negro, who, with many colleges 
in the land still closed against him, yet has he become w^ell 
read — the Negro who has few to help him up, but many to 
push him down, yet reached lie the top — tlie Negro who, 
vv'ith not a few United States of^cials frowning even if he 
looked at the mail-bag, yet has he got it, and distributes its 
contents abroad. The Negro shall not work by their side ! 
Do they fear him? dread to come in contact with him? 
True he has shov\'n more zeal than they, more aspiration, 
m.ore ambition ; for we verily think, judging from their past 
record, that had they been bondmen, with all the boasted 
Saxon blood, they would have been even more patient than 
the patient Negro. \\'ith all their liberty, they have done no 
more than tlie Negro has in slavery. Both are laborers, 
both are mechanics. 

"In conclusion we have only to exhort all the American 
Trades-Unions to such action as is consistent with common 
sense, and the spirit of our American democracy. 

"Benj. Tucker Tanner." 

"THE LABOR QUESTION. 

"This is the most important Cjuestion presented for the 
consideration of the colored people of this country. Equal- 
ly important with the franchise; and as to the social question, 
it dwindles into insignificance when compared to this. It is 
a question of life — of bread for wife, and butter for children. 
We can live without the franchise if fate so ordains, as we 
have lived without it. But without bread there is no living. 
The gist of the labor question is. How am I to get bread 
and meat? how possess myself of the common comforts of 
life? The necessity for considering the subject is imper- 
ative. Never before did it bear so heavily upon us. Aside 
from the fact that we are doomed to take the chance of 
ordinary laborers, there are extraordinary obstacles in our 
way. We have not only the prejudice of the capitalists 
against us. but that of the white laborer as well. The one 

90 



will not employ us, the other will not work with us. Inde- 
pendent of this is the lawful exercise of a choice of laborers. 
American capitalists are g-enerally men who have arisen from 
the lower walks of life, and they are generally blessed with 
hosts of poor friends and relations. These, of course, must 
be first employed. This, also is true of their more energetic 
laborers. They have relations more poor than themselves, 
which must receive their first attention. We have no rich 
relation nor friends to give us such precedence or favor. 
Above all these disadvantages, towers that of imported la- 
bor. The gates of the Republic stand open, and floods rush 
in — rush in from Ireland, rush in from GermriUy, from Nor- 
thern Denmark, from Southern Italy. The tide has now 
set in from China; and there is no end to the mighty river; 
nor is there an angel to dry up the mad rushing Euphrates. 
Foreign labor takes the precedence of American labor in the 
very field in which we mostly operate, in unskilled work. 
It does not afi'ect American mechanics. But the Trades' 
Unions have shut us out from these ; and between the two 
millstones, we are threatened to be crushed and ground. 

''Benj. Tucker Tanner." 

Questions : 

When and where was Benjamin Tucker Tanner born? 

What can you say of his father and mother? 

Tell something about his early life and struggles to se- 
cure an education. 

What commendable trait of character did he possess? 

What trade did he follow, and to what use did he devote 
the money he earned while working at it? 

How many years did he study at Avery College? 

Where is Allegheny City? In what State is it? 

Is Pittsburg in the same State? 

How far distant is it from Allegheny City? 

Who was the founder of Avery College ? 

What did he offer to do for young Tanner? 

Did he accept the offer? 

What is said of young Tanner's nature? 

How do you understand the term "independent" as it 
applies to him, and in what way did he show his independ- 
ence? 

91 



After spending one year at Avery Colleg-e what other in- 
stitution of learning- did he attend? 

How old was he when he received his first appointment, 
and who appointed him? 

What was he appointed as? 

Did he accept this appointment? Why not? 

Where is Sacramento? 

What ocean lies nearest to it? 

For what church was he the "supply?" 

Why was he selected to serve this church as such? 

Give in detail as best you can an account of his work 
from his first appointment dov^-n to 1868. 

What is said of his addresses and talents? 

When was he elected editor? Of what paper? 

What does it represent ? How long did he continue as 
such editor? 

When and by what college was the degree of A. M. con- 
ferred upon him ? 

What college honored him with the degree of D. D.? 

What do these terms mean? 

What is said of his election to the "supply" for the 
Presbyterian Church ? 

When did he organize the Sabbath School for Freedmen? 

Where? 

By whose permission did he do it ? 

When was he appointed to the Alexander Mission? 
What is said about it? Give details. 

Why did he decline there appointment to "Big Balti- 
more?" 

What society secured his services for a similar purpose? 

When did he visit England and Continental Europe? 

What great conference did he attend while abroad? 

In what city of Europe did it convene? 

How has his spare time been spent? 

Name the books he has written in the order given? 

What great race publication was he made editor of? 
Where? 

What is said of the character of this publication? 

What of his views as a churchman ? 

What have you learned from reading the life of this 
great man? 

92 



What distinction was shown him while saiHng on Lake 

Geneva ? 

In what country is Lake Geneva? 

What is meant by the Alps? 

Where are they, and what are they? 

Where is Chamonix? 

Can you point these places out on the map? 

What compliment has Dr. Arnett paid to Dr. Tanner? 

Repeat the language? 

What does the success of Dr. Tanner prove? 

Is it good to have self-reliance? Why? 



Solomon G. Brown, 

(From ''Men of Mark," by Permission.) 

Was born in the District of Columbia, February 14, 1829, 
of free parents. He was deprived of the common school 
education by the loss of his father, in 1833, when his mother 
was left a widow, and had at the time six children. They 
were very poor; his father's property was seized for pre- 
tended debts, in 1834, leaving the family penniless and home- 
less. Solomon was early placed under the care of a Mr. 
Lambert Tree, Assistant Postmaster in the city post-office. 
He received an appointment under Mr. Tree in one of the 
departments in the post-office in 1844, from which he was de- 
tailed to assist Professor Joseph Henry, Professor Samuel 
F. B. Morse, and Mr. Albert Vail, in putting the new Mag- 
netic Telegraphic System in operation, in 1845, and he re- 
mained with them until the enterprise was purchased by 
the Morse Telegraph Company, when he accepted a posi- 
tion as battery tender from the new company, and served 
until appointed assistant packer to Gilman & Brothers' 
Manufactory, in their chemical laboratory. 

This was quite an incident in Mr. Brown's history, for 
he was present when the first wire was laid from Baltimore 
to Washington. It will be remembered that Mr. Morse 
had conceived the idea of a magnetic telegraph system m 
1832, and had exhibited it to the Congress in 1837, and had 
vainly attempted to get a patent in England, as Professor 
Wheatstone, in England, had claimed a prior invention over 

93 



the American. He struggled on with scanty means until 
1843, and just as he was about to give up the whole matter, 
Congress, at midnight in the last moment of the session, 
appropriated thirty thousand dollars for the purpose of 
making an experiment with the line between Baltimore and 
Washington. After the success of this line Mr. Morse was 
voted testimonials, orders of nobility, honors and wealth, 
but the Negro v^-ho assisted materially has been almost for- 
gotten. Mr. Brown was a natural scientist, and coming in 
contact with these learned men only increased his thirst for 
knowledge. He is a man of rare scientific acquirements, 
very unassuming in his appearance, and yet his intelligence 
would astonish one in making his acquaintance. Mr. Brown 
is very handy with the brush, and while he was in the chem- 
ical laboratory he mounted and colored maps for the Gen- 
eral Land Office, as well as prepared colors in the Gideon 
Company's book-binding establishment, where he remained 
until 1852, when he was appointed to the Foreign Exchange 
Division of the then new Smithsonian Institute, where he 
remained until his death a few years ago, filling 
acceptably all positions that he had been honored 
with. Few men in the city of Washington were bet- 
ter known and certainlv none stood higher in the 
estimation of the people. He filled many honorary posi- 
tions and has done great good for his race. He was 
a trustee of Wilberforce University and a trustee of 
the Fifteenth Street Presbyterian Church, Superintendent of 
the North Washington Mission Sunday School, and an ac- 
tive member of the Freedman's Relief Association. He was 
elected to the Legislature for the District of Columbia, in 
1871, and was twice re-elected, overcoming at one time 
four candidates. He was trustee of the public schools. 
Grand Secretary of the District Grand Lodge of Masons, 
Commissioner for the Poor in the County of Washington, 
and one of the assistant honorary commissioners of the 
Colored Department of the New Orleans Exposition for the 
District of Columbia. In 1866 he was elected to the of- 
fice of President of the National Union League ; was a 
member of the Executive Committee of the Emancipation 
Monument Erectors, and honorary member of the Galbraith 
Lyceum, corresponding member of the St. Paul Lyceum, 

94 



Baltimore; and a director of the Industrial Savings and 
Building Association of Washington, D. C. 

Solomon G. Brown began his public lecturing on the 
sciences about the year 1855. His first lecture was de- 
livered January 10, 1855. before the Young People's Liter- 
ary Society and Lyceum, at Israel Church. Washington, 
D.^ C, to a large and fashionable audience. This lecture was 
delivered at the request of many prominent citizens of 
Washington, as will be shown by the following letter: 

"Mr. Solomon G. Brown : 

"Dear Sir — A number of your personal friends who were 
present at the last meeting of the Young People's Club, at 
Israel, presided over by Dr. Enoch Ambush, v;ere 
somewhat surprised at certain pleasing and instructive re- 
marks made by you in explanation of society, especially 
where you so graphically described the social habits of in- 
sects, etc.. and in order that we may hear you more fully 
we beg to request that you will at some date consent to give 
us a lecture on insects, at such place as you may select. 

"We are yours very truly, 
"Sampson Nutter, Anthony Bowen, An- 
drew Foote, William Slade, Alfred 
Kiger, James Wright, A. B. Tinney, 
James Wormley, Alfred Barbour. 

"Washington, D. C, Nov. 24, 1854." 

To this a reply was made and forwarded, and January 
10 was named as the time. The lecturer was introduced by 
Dr. Enoch Ambush. He was greeted by a large and intel- 
ligent audience, among whom were several white citizens. 
The lecturer, after thanking the audience for their flattering 
ovation and Dr. Ambush for his fine introduction, said that 
"We are now introduced as a race to a new and rich field of 
thought, quite different from that in which we have been 
accustomed to engage," for from all the facts he could 
gather, he, S. G. Brown, was the first to enter the field as a 
lecturer and student of natural science, and more especially 
zoology, and for that reason he begged of the hearers a pa- 
tient sympathy in his feeble efforts. He began thus : 

95 



"But before I proceed, and I cannot consent to do so 
without first paying a living compliment to those profound, 
eminent thinkers, who have, after years of labor, study, in- 
vestigation and research, added so much to our stock of 
knowledge in that department of zoology called insects. 
The scientists I will name in the order that they have fixed 
themselves in my mind, as follows: Melsheimer, Harris, 
Fitch, Leconte (father and son), Randall, Haldman, Ziegler, 
and others who have for years pursued industriously the 
study of entomology, and have, many of them, departed 
and left their labors on record in many scientific memoirs. 
And I am here to-night to say that to them the world owes 
much for our present stock of knowledge of these little 
animate creatures, who are a benefit and a great assistance 
to human economy. 

"The word 'Insect' is derived from the Greek, and means 
'cut into ;' a living creature, whose form is articulated, hav- 
ing a sensitive body composed of three distinct parts — the 
head, the thorax and the abdomen ; legs, six in number, the 
first two act as auxiliary, the third two as lifters or props 
to an overhanging oblongated abdomen. Two, and some- 
times four, wings, attached to the thorax and abdomen. 
Along the sides are openings or spiracules lined with per- 
ruginous hairs, through which they breathe and carry on 
respiration. 

"The word 'Insect' is sometimes used in a sense of 
derision, as something small, insignificant, mean, low and 
contemptible. This we think is a grave error, for in noth- 
ing created (except man) has God in his infinite wisdom and 
goodness displayed so much grandeur and wonder as is 
found in these minute, delicate and wonderful creatures, and 
we do this evening come to the defence of the insect, and 
claim for it a high place in the great kingdom of zoology, 
and class it as the head of the articulates, forming a dis- 
tinct branch, yet a zoological mint, and a thing worthy of 
the best and most costly investigation and thought, for no 
man can boast of a complete knowledge of zoology with- 
out at least some acquaintance with entomology. 

"I am truly proud to say that among the branches studied 
to inclose a liberal education, now encouraged, that natural 
history is incorporated, and some attention, and even re- 

96 



spect, is being paid to the study of entomology; and the 
most flattering demonstration of that fact is in this gather- 
ing to-night. 

"The earlier students have carefully collected and ar- 
ranged all known families of insects into groups, families, 
varieties, germs and species, naming each class according 
to some well-defined characteristic, then again sub-dividing 
them into two grand roots: first insects which are beneficial; 
second, insects which are injurious to man. A further in- 
vestigation was found necessary when it was discovered 
that the identical species were not found all over the globe; 
then a geographical distinction was fixed ; this and many 
other difficulties were met with among the earliest natural- 
ists, and after a systematic study of food, habitation, habits, 
arrival and departure, and climatic situations considered, 
they finally arrived at a proper philosophical data." 

The lecturer dwelt for some time and spoke of many 
amusing incidents of superstition, and of association, in- 
dustries, union, afifections, offenses, defenses, deception and 
profanations ; their mode of communication ; their songs and 
languages; their destructiveness, friendship and enmity to 
man ; their presence and absence at various seasons of the 
year; their providence, unity, obedience to authority and 
communism. He then named those which benefited man, 
such as bees, silk-worms, house-fly and numerous others; 
and among those w^hich injured man he named fleas, chigoes, 
ticks, bed-bugs, horse-flies, wasps, hornets, mosquitoes, lice, 
ants, scorpions, etc. 

In the concluding portion of the lecture, the social order 
of insects was again referred to at some length, and it was 
proven very clearly and logically, as well as wittily, that 
insects in many cases had been men's closest and nearest 
companions, more so than any other known animal, follow- 
ing him through all departments of life — at times even his 
bed-fellow and constant bosom friends. 

This lecture was fully illustrated by forty-nine large 
drawings or diagrams, and was repeated many times in 
Washington, Virginia and Maryland. Prof. Brown has also 
lectured on the following subjects: "Geology," "Water," 
"Air," "Food," "Coal," "Mineralogy," "Telegraph," "Fun- 

97 



gus," "Embryo Plant/' "Man's Relations to the Earth," 
"Straight Lines, its Product, Circles and its Waste," "God's 
Providence to Man," "Early Educators of the District of 
Columbia," and six others. 

Questions : 

Where and when was Solomon G. Brown born? 

Why was he deprived of the common school education? 

When did his father die? 

How many children did he have ? 

What was the condition of the family at this time ? 

When was his father's property seized, and for what? 

How did the seizure of this property effect the family? 

Under whose care was Solomon placed after this mis- 
fortune? 

When was he appointed in the post ofifice? 

Where was he detailed for work, and for what purpose? 

Who was Prof. S. F. B. Morse? 

What do you know about the magnetic telegraph which 
he invented? 

Who was associated with him in putting this system in 
operation? 

When did this occur? 

How long did young Brown remain with these gentle- 
men? 

What position was ofifered him by the new company? 

Did he accept? 

When was the new company organized? 

How much did Congress appropriate for the purpose of 
making the experiment spoken of? 

In what way was Brown identified with this movement? 

What other position did he accept after leaving this 
company ? 

When was the first telegraphic message sent in the Unit- 
ed States? 

From what point was it sent, and to what point? 

What was the message? 

Did Brown receive medals, money or even honorable 
mention by Congress or from any other source for his work 
in this new enterprise? 
• What is said of his general attainments and abilities? 

98 



Give in detail an account of his life and work, beginning 
with the termination of his labors as battery man for the 
new telegraph company. 

What is meant by "battery man?" 

Name the various positions he has filled. 

When was his first lecture delivered? 

Under what circumstances was it delivered? 

What was the subject of it? 

How was it received? 

What lesson have you learned from the life of this good 



man? 



What in his history most impresses you? 

Do vou think he has benefited his race? How, and in 

what way? 

What important fact has he demonstrated in the work 

to which he has devoted his life? 

Has race anything to do with intellectual development? 

Are the same opportunities given to other boys for im- 
proving their minds and benefitting their race? 

Are you endeavoring to improve your mind-* 



Bishop Philip Aklis Hubert. 

Bishop Philip Akhs Hubert, D. D., LL. D., was born in 
Antigua, B. W. I., April i, i860. He is an alumnus of Dur- 
ham University, England, and of Lady Mico College, St. 
John Antigua, ex-Principal of Her Majesty's School, B. W. 
I., and alumnus of the Dominican Monastery, F. W. I. 

Came to the United States twenty-two years ago. He 
labored in a most painstaking manner for the education of 
the colored race, and achieved that purpose with great suc- 
cess. 

In his ministerial career as a clergyman, he has preached 
in some of the leading churches in the States, also in Allen- 
town. 

He is a man of great intellectual force, and scholarly 
attainments, much recognized by the leading dioceses. Was 
the leading candidate for the Haytian portfolio. Consecrat- 
ed Bishop at Allentown on May 3, 1909, by Senior Bishop 
Samuel G. Kreamer, of the United Christian Church. 

99 



"A BIBLICAL STUDY." 
(Patrick Henry Brand.) 

(Taken from Press Scrap Book.) 

Bishop Philip AkHs Hubert, D. D., LL. D.— A Colored 

Divine Educated Abroad — His Article, "Atonement," 

in This Number — A Brilliant, Scholarly Man. 

One of the most striking instances of personal genius 
found among the members of the colored race, is shown in 
the profound and scholarly dissertation on the Atonement, 
which appears below, written by Philip Aklis Hubert, D. D., 
LL. D. 

He was bom April i, i860, in Antigua, B. W. I., and 
was educated in celebrated universities abroad. His minis- 
terial work with the United Christian Church in this country 
has gained for him signal recognition for scholarship and 
compelling address. He begins with the following Scrip- 
tural citations^ in support of his arguments: 

ATONEMENT. 

Lev., 23 — 28 V. Lev., 25 — 9 v. 
II Sam., 21 — 3 V. Lev., 16 — 17 v. 
Romans, 5 — 11 v. Lev., 4 — 20 v. 
Numbers, 8 — 21 v. 

A. "For it is a day of atonement to make an atonement 
for you before the Lord your God." 

"In the day of atonement shall ye make the trumpet 
sound throughout all your land." 

"Wherewith shall I make the atonement that ye may 
bless the inheritance of the Lord." 

"And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the con- 
gregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the 
holy place, until he come out and have made an atone- 
ment for himself, and for his household and for the con- 
gregation." 

CONGREGATION OF ISRAEL. 

B. "God, by Whom we have now received the atone- 
ment." 

100 



"And the priest shall make an atonement for them, and 
it shall be forgiven them." 

"And Aaron made an atonement for them to cleanse 
them." 

Under the Theocracy, the Levitical ordinances and the 
apostleship of Sacred Writ, we find the atonement indispen- 
ible as an exemptive evidence from sin, and a worthy pre- 
sentation to God. It is undoubtedly one of the most pleas- 
ing features to God, that in our creation, we are to make 
known our entire dependence upon Him, by making ap- 
plication for a share in his storehouse of mercy. 

Atonement placed the Israelite and also the Gentile in an 
independent attitude. It makes them solely responsible for 
all acts performed, and pointed out the love and infinite 
exalted position of the Lord God of Hosts. Under the 
Theocracy, the Day of Atonement was of prime importance 
in the ritualistic observance of the Hebrews. A great deal 
of noise was made about it, in other words it was a celebra- 
tion in which trumpets were sounded to call the people to- 
gether that they may prepare to make arrangements for 
death eternal or "eternae vitae." That God should have 
imposed this observance upon the Hebrews is clear evidence 
of his desire for human worship. 

Nothing establishes the supremacy of the eternal God 
more conclusively than that obligation for salvation which 
must not only be recognized but which forms a part in the 
psychological relationship of man to God. In the atone- 
ment there is glory for God. The Day of Atonement was 
the supremest moment for that man who would enter the 
holy place to arrange a new lease, a new contract with God 
for living life, for sweet communion and relation to the 
Father of all mercies. Atonement, therefore, from a theo- 
logical point of view, is one of the attributes of the God- 
head which can only be fulfilled and operated by man. It is 
the connecting link in the chain of life and death. With 
the atonement, God is obligated, without it, God is exoner- 
ated. Well may we exclaim, "How glorious are Thy works, 
Almighty God." The writer never spoke to better advan- 
tage than when he said "Lord, what is man that Thou art 
mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him." 

loi 



But again, let ns notice very carefully this passage — 
"And the priest shall make an atonement for them and it 
shall be forgiven them." It was a matter of little conse- 
quence what the transgression was so long as the priest 
would take it and throw it upon the shoulders of the Lord 
God of Hosts. In plain Theology, therefore, the atone- 
ment made God responsible for all that man did, and there- 
fore saved his soul alive. 

Has God changed the modus operandi of salvation? Has 
God, in sending His Son Jesus into the world that 
He might be the Grand Atoner for sin, cancelled our hopes? 
To these we answer, No! God has never grown cold to- 
wards the eternal interests of man from the day of His 
creation down to the present time. The great hallucination 
of many theologians is that they consider atonement a vir- 
tue rather than a condition. Atonement is purely and sim- 
ply a condition based upon the nolens volens of man. 

According to the Aaronic ritual, atonement was a cleans- 
ing process. The inference drawn from this, therefore, is, 
that an accumulation of impurity is the inevitable lot of 
man to do, and as no man can ever approach God unclean, 
the process of cleansing or of purification is supremely indis- 
pensable in the dealings of God and man. But why this 
accumulation of imperfections? Here the writer explains, 
"Who can, by searching, find out God?" Did not God cre- 
ate man a perfect and innocent being? Did he not soon 
after wilfully violate the contract of that creation? Must 
man not make that contract good? The soul that sinneth 
shall surely die, if no atonement is made. Then man be- 
comes at variance with God through negligence and the 
most beautiful and mysterious device, plan and arrangement 
by which the Allwise Creator of the Universe is to be glori- 
fied and adored, is rendered useless to that individuality 
and repudiated. Without the shedding of blood, there is no 
remission of sin and without the arrangement for atonement, 
there is no shedding of blood and ultimately no remission 
of sins. 

But He to whom the atonement is made, stands ready 
and willing to apply the cleansing which he once and for all 
inaugurated when he exclaimed, "It is finished." 



1 02 



Questions : 

Where was Bishop Hubert born? 

In what part of the world is Antig'ua? 

What do the letters B. W. I. stand for? 

What is the meaning- of the word alumnus? 

Where is Durham University? 

Where is Lady Mico College? 

In what school was Bishop Hubert a teacher? 

Where w^as it located? 

Of what other institution of learning was he an alumnus? 

What is the meaning of the words Dominican Monas- 
tery? 

What is a Monastery? 

What do the letters F. W. I. stand for? 

In what year did Bishop Hubert come to the United 
States? 

In what occupation did he engage? 

What is said of his method as a teacher? 

What is said of his career as a clergyman? 

How is he recognized by the leading dioceses? 

What does the word dioceses mean? 

For what diplomatic office was he a candidate? 

Where is Hayti? 

When was he consecrated a Bishop, and where? 

Of what church is he a Bishop? 

Who consecrated him? 

Define the word consecrate. 

What have you learned from reading Bishop Hubert's 
article on the atonement? 

What is the meaning of this word? 



End of Volume I. 



103 









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